3 Teams Receive 2021 Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Awards
Research Corporation for Science Advancement has funded three new collaborative projects emerging from discussions on reimagining higher education at the 2021 Cottrell Scholar Conference. This year’s Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Awards, at $25,000 each, will support efforts to make higher education more inclusive and equitable.
“The aim of these awards is to improve undergraduate and graduate-level science education,” said Senior Program Director Silvia Ronco. “Tackling racial and gender inequities on campus, as well as the barriers that keep women and minorities from careers in science, is an important part of that.”
With more than 500 teacher-scholars in the U.S., Canada and Germany, the Cottrell Scholar community works across disciplines, and in partnership with national initiatives, on high-impact efforts to change the culture at colleges and universities. Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Award teams are made up of Cottrell Scholars, Fulbright-Cottrell Scholars and Cottrell Fellows who attended the annual conference in July.
These projects have received 2021 Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Awards:
Cottrell Scholar Collaborative as Bridge for National DEI Efforts
This project seeks to develop connections and promote partnerships between Cottrell Scholars and scientific societies and identity groups in science. In addition to developing an action guide to how individual faculty can contribute to any of these programs, the project aims to host a workshop to help foster relationships among allied organizations and individuals.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Rory Waterman, chemistry, University of Vermont
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Jeanine Amacher, chemistry, Western Washington University
Penny Beuning, chemistry, Northeastern University
Rachel Bezanson, astronomy, University of Pittsburgh
Laura Blecha, physics, University of Florida
Jeffery Byers, chemistry, Boston College
Lou Charkoudian, chemistry, Haverford College
Catherine Kealhofer, physics, Williams College
Charles McCrory, chemistry, University of Michigan
David Strubbe, physics, University of California, Merced
Jesús Velázquez, chemistry, University of California, Davis
Also with: Philip “Bo” Hammer, University of Chicago
Art and the Creative STEM Classroom
This project seeks to build a community of STEAM educators to create evidence-based modules incorporating non-traditional activities such as drawing or making, 3D printing, and other creative skills into undergraduate physics and chemistry classrooms, with the aim of improving student understanding of basic concepts and problem-solving skills, improving student communication about scientific ideas, and improving retention of historically underrepresented groups.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Elisabetta Matsumoto, physics, Georgia Tech
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Tim Atherton, physics, Tufts University
Adam Leibovich, physics, University of Pittsburgh
Gina MacDonald, chemistry, James Madison University
Julio de Paula, chemistry, Lewis and Clark College
Paul Raston, chemistry, James Madison University
Jenny Ross, physics, Syracuse University
A Cottrell Scholars Workshop on Authentic Grading in STEM and Holistic Evaluation of Students’ Performance
This project seeks to help faculty develop more authentic and equitable assessments of student abilities by hosting a workshop for the participants to hear about different grading practices that are becoming more widely used in academia, and to extend the discussion toward a more holistic interpretation of students’ abilities by going beyond measures like the GPA or GRE scores.
Lead Cottrell Scholar: Mario Affatigato, physics, Coe College
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:
Michael Dennin, physics, University of California, Irvine
Daniela Fera, chemistry, Swarthmore College
Alex Fraño, physics, University of California, San Diego
Carla Fröhlich, physics, North Carolina State University
Katie Mouzakis, chemistry, Loyola Marymount University
Rosario Porras-Aguilar, physics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Juliane Simmchen, chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden
Hanadi Sleiman, chemistry, McGill University
Claire Till, chemistry, Humboldt State University
Lauren Waters, chemistry, University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
Also with: Aaron Teator, chemistry, University of Kansas
