Disrupting Ableism and
Advancing STEM

Promoting the Success of People with
Disabilities in the STEM Workforce

_____

Taylor Kate Brown and
Melissa E. Wynn, Rapporteurs

Kerry Brenner and
Maria Lund Dahlberg, Editors

Board on Higher Education
and Workforce

Policy and Global Affairs

Board on Science Education

Division of Behavioral and
Social Sciences and Education

Proceedings of a Workshop Series

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-71038-1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-71038-3
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/27245
Epub ISBN: 978-0-309-71041-1

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM: Promoting the Success of People with Disabilities in the STEM Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27245.

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BEYOND COMPLIANCE: PROMOTING THE SUCCESS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE STEM WORKFORCE

BONNIELIN (BONNIE) SWENOR (Chair), Director, Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center and Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

EMILY ACKERMAN, Postdoctoral Researcher, Lahav Lab, Harvard Medical School

DAVE CAUDEL, Associate Director, Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University

MICHELE COOKE, Professor of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst

LOGAN GIN, Assistant Director, STEM Education, Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Brown University

ANDREW J. (ANDY) IMPARATO, Executive Director, Disability Rights California (DRC)

ANITA STONE MARSHALL, Assistant Instructional Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Executive Director, The International Association for Geoscience Diversity, University of Florida

MONA MINKARA, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Affiliated Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University

JORDAN RODRIGUEZ, Civil Engineer in Training, Stantec

RUPA S. VALDEZ, Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences and Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia

Staff

MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Director, Board on Higher Education and Workforce

KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer, Board on Science Education

ANDREA DALAGAN, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Higher Education and Workforce

MELISSA E. WYNN, Program Officer, Board on Higher Education and Workforce

Consultants

SCOTT BELLMAN, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT

BRIANNA BLASER, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT

TERRILL THOMPSON, Universal Design and Accessibility Consultant, University of Washington, DO-IT

TAYLOR KATE BROWN, Consultant Writer

JOAN PASLEY, Evaluation Consultant, Horizon Research, Inc.

BREAN PREFONTAINE, Evaluation Consultant, Horizon Research, Inc.

BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE

LAMONT R. TERRELL (Co-Chair), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead, GSK

MARIELENA DeSANCTIS (Co-Chair), President, Community College of Denver

RAJEEV DAROLIA, Wendell H. Ford Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of Kentucky

JOAN FERRINI-MUNDY, President, University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias; Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Maine System

MATTHEW HORA, Associate Professor of Adult and Higher Education and Founding Director, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT), University of Wisconsin–Madison

BRANDY HUDERSON, Associate Professor of Biology, University of the District of Columbia; DEI Consultant and Data Analyst, Avent Diversity Consulting

TASHA R. INNISS, Associate Provost for Research, Office of Research, Innovation, and Collaboration, Spelman College

TRACIE LATTIMORE, Health Readiness Policy & Oversight, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)

HIRONAO OKAHANA, Assistant Vice President and Executive Director, Education Futures Lab, American Council on Education

JOERG C. SCHLATTERER, Director, ACS Office of Research Grants, American Chemical Society

KATE E. STOLL, Project Director, Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, American Association for the Advancement of Science

MEGHNA TARE, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of Texas at Arlington

ZAKIYA WILSON-KENNEDY, Ron and Dr. Mary Neal Distinguished Associate Professor of Chemistry Education and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, College of Science, Louisiana State University

JOSH WYNER, Executive Director, Aspen Institute College Excellence Program; Vice President, Aspen Institute

Staff

MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Director

ANDREA DALAGAN, Senior Program Assistant

ANDRÉ N. PORTER, Senior Program Officer

KARLA RILEY, Senior Program Assistant

JOHN VERAS, Associate Program Officer

MELISSA E. WYNN, Program Officer

BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

SUSAN R. SINGER (Chair), President, St. Olaf College

SUE ALLEN, Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance

MEGAN BANG, Professor of Learning Sciences, Northwestern University

VICKI L. CHANDLER, Provost, Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute

MAYA M. GARCIA, Chief Program Officer, Beyond100K

DAVID GOLDSTON, Director, MIT Washington Office

G. PETER LEPAGE, Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Cornell University

WILLIAM PENUEL, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder

STEPHEN L. PRUITT, President, Southern Regional Education Board

K. RENAE PULLEN, K–6 Science Curriculum Instructional Specialist, Caddo Parish Schools, Shreveport, Louisiana

K. ANN RENNINGER, Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor in Social Theory and Social Action, Swarthmore College

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, Chancellor, Los Angeles Community College District

MARCY H. TOWNS, Bodner-Honig Professor of Chemistry, Purdue University

DARRYL N. WILLIAMS, Senior Vice President, Science and Education, The Franklin Institute

Staff

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director

AMY STEPHENS, Associate Director

KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer

KENNE DIBNER, Senior Program Officer

JANET GAO, Program Officer

LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Research Associate

MARGARET KELLY, Program Coordinator

LUCY OLIVEROS, Senior Program Assistant

HOLLY RHODES, Senior Program Officer

LAUREN RYAN, Senior Program Assistant

BRITTANI SHORTER, Senior Program Assistant

TIFFANY E. TAYLOR, Program Officer

AUDREY WEBB, Program Officer

Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop Series was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

MARIA COPPOLA, University of Connecticut

LOGAN GIN, Brown University

TODD PAGANO, Rochester Institute of Technology

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Marilyn Baker, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.

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Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations

1 INTRODUCTION

Background and Motivation for the Workshop Series

Recurring Terms and Themes

Organization of the Workshop Series and Proceedings

Opening Remarks

2 TOWARD DISRUPTING ABLEISM AND ADVANCING STEM

Leadership Discussion

The Intersections of Disability, Equity, and STEM

Reference

3 CENTERING DISABILITY AND IDENTIFYING EQUITY

Describing Disability and Ableism

Reflections

References

4 CULTIVATING ACCESSIBLE EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS AND SPACES

Changing Mindsets: Systems, Programs, and Policies

Acronyms and Abbreviations

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