ABET, the global leader in quality assurance for higher education programs, is excited to announce the inaugural Building Equity, Leadership and Opportunities for a New Generation (BELONG) Summit, funded by the ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation.
This groundbreaking event will assemble top voices in engineering education to advance inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) across academic institutions. The two summits, scheduled for January and April 2025, will serve as pivotal platforms to drive institutional change and promote a more inclusive culture within the engineering education community.
Principal Investigator and Leadership Team
Dr. Richard Olawoyin, principal investigator and chair of the ABET IDEA Council, is responsible for the Summit’s strategic direction, execution and achievement of its goals. With extensive experience in IDEA research, project management and community engagement, he will guide the team in creating a comprehensive and inclusive agenda that incorporates the diverse perspectives necessary to drive institutional change.
Joining Olawoyin is Jessica Silwick, co-principal investigator and ABET’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Silwick will leverage her expertise in financial management, communications and marketing to shape the summit’s content, select speakers and extend outreach to ensure broad participation. Also serving as Co-Principal Investigator is Imelda Cossette, executive director of the Online Instructional Resources for Material Science Technology Education. With over 25 years of experience in manufacturing education and Women in STEM recruitment and retention, Cossette will collaborate on project activities, communication, and summit production, ensuring the event addresses the needs of underrepresented groups in engineering.
Summit Commitment, Evaluation and Impact
The Summit will bring together diverse participants, including engineering education leaders and educators committed to advancing IDEA in scientific and engineering fields. Already, seven notable participants have already confirmed their attendance.
Dr. Yvette Pearson, founder and principal consultant of The Pearson Evaluation and Education Research Group, LLC (The PEER Group), will evaluate the summit. With over 50 years of combined experience in engineering, STEM education research, and strategic initiatives, The PEER Group will conduct both process and outcome evaluations. Their assessment will focus on how effectively the Summit addresses the needs of engineering programs concerning IDEA criteria and equips participants with the knowledge, tools, and resources necessary to implement lasting change.
Dissemination and Sustainability
ABET is committed to extending the BELONG Summit’s impact beyond the event itself. The insights and recommendations generated during the summit will be integrated into ABET’s broader initiatives, including the ABET Symposium, professional society engagement, commission training and institutional representative orientations. By bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders, the Summit aims to inspire meaningful action and drive transformative change across the global engineering education community.
For more information about the BELONG Summit, please contact Olawoyin at olawoyin@oakland.edu. If you are a university administrator, department chair, or commissioner related to the Engineering Accreditation Commission, please contact Susan Parker, senior manager, events, at sparker@abet.org to learn how to get involved.
About ABET
ABET is a nonprofit, ISO 9001 certified quality assurance organization focused on college and university programs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Through their work and partnerships, ABET helps ensure that the next generation of STEM professionals is equipped to help build a world that is safer, more efficient, more inclusive and more sustainable.
For more information about ABET, visit https://www.abet.org/.
This material is based upon work supported by National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program under Grant No. 2344929. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.