Dr. Kendrick Davis is a science policy and education expert who serves as the Chief Research Officer at the USC Race and Equity Center and Associate Professor at the Rossier School of Education. He is an education researcher and roboticist by training, and his research investigates the educational experiences of underrepresented STEM students and the racialized impacts of science policy. Prior to USC, Kendrick was a STEM policy advisor for two Philadelphia mayors and Vice President Kamala D. Harris when she served in the U.S Senate. He consults on several National Science Foundation (NSF) projects and was recognized as a 2021 Emerging Scholar by Diverse publication.

Description: How does a global pandemic impact STEM students’ experiences in higher education? How have issues of racial justice impacted STEM students’ academic and career trajectories? We don’t know and STEM students are rarely asked. Although important progress has been made, there remains an artificial divorce between social and scientific issues, particularly when it concerns race and ethnicity. Failing to address this separation weakens our individual and collective goals of social and economic progress. Using two NSF-supported programs as case studies (Illinois LSAMP Alliance hosted by Chicago State University & the ATE Micro Nano Technology Education Center at Pasadena City College), Dr. Kendrick Davis will share students’ attitudes, experiences, and perceptions about themselves, their mentors, and institutional supports pre-pandemic and during this recovery period. Some students reported having an increased resolve and commitment to pursuing a STEM degree, even while experiencing significant personal difficulty. Most importantly, this session aims to provide students a space to share their experiences about the culture and climate of their programs/departments/schools. Anonymized feedback will be shared, in summary, with faculty at the next session.

This discussion is hosted by the Network for Computational Nanotechnology. NCN operates nanoHUB.org through funding provided by The National Science Foundation under Grant No. EEC-1227110.Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this discussion are those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.