Overview

This Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) project was funded by the National Science Foundation and led by Drs. Julie Martin, Clemson University; Amy Slaton, Drexel University, and Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington. Who’s Not at the Table held and disseminated results from a meeting of multiple stakeholder groups to support a national research agenda for broadening engineering participation by those self-identifying as persons with disabilities; veterans; low income/first-generation persons (LIFG); and persons of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) identity. The goal of the project was to build capacity to conduct formal research in broadening participation of these underserved groups. Project objectives included

  1. developing an understanding of how to best increase research capacity in the area of study proposed;
  2. conducting a conference for individuals that represent a wide range of stakeholder groups who will contribute to the project goal;
  3. developing summary proceedings for the conference that include a synthesis of input presented at the meeting as a contribution toward creating a research agenda around the project goal; and
  4. disseminating findings through the project website, online forums, and conferences that project leaders and participants routinely attend.

All stakeholders are encouraged to continue this effort using resources found on this website and contribute references to add to the Literature page by sending an email to doit@uw.edu.