Mentoring

Danny Martin, PhD, professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Education, argues that STEM education needs to include a moral component at the Coalition of Schools Education Boys of Color 2013 Gathering, hosted by the College of Education. To learn more about how you can make good on the promise of public education, visit our website: http://education.uic.edu/prospective-students

Professor C. Fred Higgs III, who is the John and Ann Doerr Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University, presented a brief talk to engineering students entitled “Why in the World should I get my PhD in Engineering?” For additional information or access to the anecdotal survey data he mentions as inspiring, please visit: http://graduate.rice.edu/whygetPhD

On Thursday, February 11th, Dr. H. Richard Milner IV, Helen Faison Professor of Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh, visited SUNY Buffalo State as part of the Woods-Beals Endowment in Urban Education Speaker Series to share his expertise on urban education, culturally responsive teaching, and the ways racism and poverty impact PreK-20 students opportunities to learn. During Bengal Pause, Dr. Milner delivered a campus keynote highlighting the still prevalence and pervasiveness of racism and discrimination on college and university campuses addressing the following questions: What do some students of color experience on university campuses, and how do those experiences impact their subsequent performance? How do we confront and disrupt racist attitudes, beliefs and practices and better support all students on campus? The keynote was well attended by the Buffalo State campus community.

Today’s episode features Professor Monica Cox, a professor of Engineering Education at the Ohio State University (OSU). Professor Cox holds the title for “The First Black Woman” to achieve tenure at both the University of Purdue and OSU where she was formerly the inaugural Chair of the Engineering Education Department. Tenure is an academic appointment reserved for categorically productive academics in the three facets of an academic: research, teaching and service. Tenured professors enjoy great job security and great prestige. As both institutions that Professor Cox has achieved this post in are R1 institutions (i.e., very high research activity - based on the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education), her scholarly work has undoubtedly made an impact on Engineering Education. It is unsurprising that Professor Cox won a Presidential Award through the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2008, giving her a chance to visit the White House and meet, then President Barack Obama along with other awardees. Being “The First” is not something that Professor Cox thinks as necessarily a positive thing, she in essence believes that it creates an unnecessary burden. This burden comes from knowing that the potential of failure has a bigger meaning that your inability to achieve a daunting task reflects on your entire race and not just your personal work. In later parts of this interview, Professor Cox speaks about burdens such as these faced by BIPOC academics all around the nation through her research. Professor Cox is the Principal Investigator for a 7-figure research project funded by the NSF titled, “Why We Persist: An Intersectional Study to Characterize and Examine the Experiences of Women Tenure-Track Faculty in Engineering." This project was inspired by her experiences in the process of achieving tenure and asking herself, along with her colleagues, “Why do we persist, despite the difficulty?” Professor Cox has managed to blend her activism with her scholarship - an art that is not easy to navigate - maybe it’s #BlackGirlMagic. That magic could have come from her alma mater Spelman College - the celebrated all female Historically Black University with notable alumnae such as Ms. Stacey Abrams - the Atlanta Georgia Democratic Politician. See part 1 highlights to learn about Professor Cox’s academic timeline. If you’d like to learn more about Professor Cox check out her website where she also showcases her business, “STEMinent LLC” which is a brand that houses a variety of STEM education offerings. See Professor Cox’s website here: https://www.drmonicacox.com/ Or you may read her book “Excellence: Why Being Average is Never an Option.” https://www.amazon.com/Excellence-Being-Average-Never-Option-ebook/dp/B07B2KT4N1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= If you would like to select specific parts where Professor Cox answers particular questions, please check out the below times. Part 1 1:18 - Professor Cox Introduces herself 2:25 - Can you talk us through your academic pathway to become a professor? (Her Academic Timeline) 8:27 - How is your pioneering experience influenced by your teaching, research and service enterprise? 13:40 - What pushes you to work harder? 15:32 - What work gives you life? 17:14 - What work is overrated? Part 2 2:16 - How have you shifted your leadership efforts? 11:00 - Do you encourage professors to diversify their income streams through their research? 12:11 - Can you tell us about your NSF funded project, “Why We Persist?” 25:42 - What do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career? 27:59 - What misconceptions of the professoriate would you like to dispel? Thank you for watching, Sincerely Adam Contact me: amas.stemlifestyle@gmail.com My socials: https://linktr.ee/AM_AS​ Professor Cox Website: https://www.drmonicacox.com/ Professor Cox twitter: @DrMonicaCox #Engineering #Education #Professor #OSU #Buckeyes #Tenure

Danny Martin, PhD, professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Education, describes why African American students are positioned for success in math and the societal stereotypes that belie that statement. To learn more about how you can make good on the promise of public education, visit our website: http://education.uic.edu/prospective-students