Do I want to be recognized? Reflections on my experience with (Dis)Ability and working in Higher Education

Posted: Oct 5 2017 by

Paul Artale
Henry Ford Community College

Paul Artale, Keynote Speaker

My name is Paul. I was born missing fingers and have funny arms. I am ok with it. There really isn't much that I can't do and I have learned to adapt.

People who looked at me probably thought I could never play college football but yeah...I did that. I even coached it for a while. I loved my time working in athletics and although I looked different, I never felt out of place or discriminated against. I was just Paul Artale, football guy, and keeping teams from scoring on us was the most important thing in the world. I bring up football because being an athlete (and the lessons learned from it) are still very prominent pieces of my identity.

Disability is a complex and nuanced identity. Disability is not a primary, or even secondary identity for many people with a disability. My athletic identity, ethnicity, and nationality (Canadian) are far more prevalent in my life. On a good day, it is something I don't think about much about. On a rare bad day it is something that I repress. Disability is often left out of discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) because individuals with disabilities frequently do not prioritize their disability identity, or leave it completely out of conversations because it is a secondary or tertiary identity. Another reason is that disability is often perceived as a medical condition; a person has a condition, they adapt, they persist, and they almost forget they had a disability in the first place. More

Responding to Racism

Posted: Sep 15 2017 by

Inese Berzina-Pitcher
Western Michigan University

Inese Berzina-Pitcher, Western Michigan University

In response to the events that took place in Charlottesville, we sent ASCN members an email with a subject line – "How shall we respond to racism?" in which we condemned these appalling displays of racism, violence, and ignorance, and discussed how they brought to light the importance of education in fighting racism and promoting equity and inclusion. We also reaffirmed that fighting racism and promoting equity and inclusion are a daily responsibility, and an important priority in our work. More

Featured Case Studies at the 2017 SMTI/ASCN Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion

Posted: Apr 17 2017 by

Inese Berzina-Pitcher
Western Michigan University

Inese Berzina-Pitcher

Creating an Institutional Culture of Accountability to Ensure Diversity and Inclusion in STEM Fields

Dr. Christine A. Stanley, Vice President and Associate Provost; Professor, Higher Education Administration, Texas A&M University will be the opening speaker on TAMU's Diversity Plan. TAMU's Diversity Plan, which was developed in 2010 and is executed by the Office for Diversity, established the expectation that all academic and administrative units submit annual reports to monitor and evaluate progress toward accountability, climate, and equity efforts. More

2017 SMTI-ASCN Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion

Posted: Mar 20 2017 by

Inese Berzina-Pitcher
Western Michigan University

Inese Berzina-Pitcher

June 24–25, 2017
Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, Louisiana

Start time: 3:00 pm CT, June 24
End time: 5:30 pm CT, June 25

Registration is closed.

This summer, in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) ( This site may be offline. ) , we are organizing the 2017 SMTI/ASCN Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion . The APLU Science and Mathematics Teaching Imperative (SMTI) is a community of faculty, department chairs, deans, and provosts who are engaged in improving STEM teaching and teacher preparation. This workshop immediately follows the NSEC 2017 National Conference .

The goal of the 2017 SMTI/ASCN Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion is to advance a dialog on diversity and inclusion in undergraduate STEM education between practitioners transforming institutions and researchers who are studying systemic change at higher education institutions. More