Stevens Institute of Technology
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Stevens Institute of Technology stands committed to the principle of equality of opportunity in employment and in education.

It is the policy of Stevens Institute of Technology not to discriminate on the basis of ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, a typical hereditary cellular or blood trait, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, veteran status, any other category protected by law, or liability for service in the armed forces or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran, in its admissions policies, educational programs, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, activities, or employment policies. Under Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, Stevens (like all other educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance) is required to make public notification of its compliance with this law. Inquiries regarding compliance with Title IX may be directed to the Office of Affirmative Action, Stevens Institute of Technology (201-216-5122), or to the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202.

https://web.stevens.edu/catalog/archive/2015-2016/policies.html#6925

For example, the University has established a “Title IX Coordinator” role with centralized oversight responsibility for Title IX matters at Stevens, including the coordination of the University’s response to reports. Xhiljola Ruci is the Interim Title IX Coordinator and has ultimate responsibility for Title IX matters generally and primary responsibility for overseeing complaints and reports relating to Stevens’ students. Maria Ouckama is the Deputy Title IX Coordinator and will be the primary person responsible for overseeing complaints and reports relating to employees. Ms. Ruci and Ms. Ouckama are also responsible for the coordination of educational programs for students, faculty, and staff to promote awareness and prevention of gender-based and sexual misconduct.

Bias Incident Response Protocol:
https://www.stevens.edu/sites/stevens_edu/files/files/UPL/Policy_on_Discrimination_Harassment_and_Bias_Incidents_70p2p2_9-20-17.pdf

In addition to the support that provided through our policy and structured process of investigation and actions taken as a result of an investigation, we do have CARE for students (https://www.stevens.edu/campus-life/health-wellness/care), and third party provided counseling for faculty and staff to help those that have experienced or witnessed a bias incident, act of discrimination or hate crime.

Students
Increasing the percentage of underrepresented minorities in incoming undergraduate cohorts is one of the goals stated in the Strategic Plan 2017-2022. Successful progress in this endeavor has been thanks to the implementation of a number of continuing initiatives, including Stevens ACES (Accessing Careers in Engineering and Science), the Clark Scholars program, and scores of specialized outreach and promotional efforts and programs, along with strategic use of financial aid.
https://www.stevens.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/special-programs/james-clark-scholars-program
https://www.stevens.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/special-programs/stevens-aces

Academic Staff
Stevens has developed "Guidelines and Best Practices to Conduct a Faculty Search" that has diversity at the core. It calls for a diverse search committee, provides resources attracting and advertising to diverse group, and lists strategies to prevent unintended bias. Full program is described in the attached document.

1. The Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP) serves as the “informal home” for undergraduates from diverse backgrounds. It provides the students with a comfortable and supportive environment in which to express themselves, and responds to their needs with guidance, support services and special programs.

STEP’s mission is to “Connect Students to Success”, and offers students from underrepresented backgrounds with support and assistance to achieve their academic, personal and career goals. The department provides the students with Academic Support, Advising and Counseling, and Professional Development opportunities.
http://www.stevens.edu/sit/step

2. Lore-El Center for Women's Leadership
The Lore-El Center is a vibrant living and learning environment that promotes the empowerment of Stevens women through programs, events, mentorship and a shared residential experience.
https://www.stevens.edu/LoreEl

3. Safe Zone Ally Program
The Stevens Safe Zone Ally Program is a campus-wide initiative designed to educate Stevens community members on LGBTQ+ identity, current (in)justices impacting the LGBTQ community, and visibly identify Stevens staff, students, and faculty who seek to support the campus' LGBTQ population.
Before getting a Safe Zone placard to put on an office wall, staff & faculty must attend two, 2-hour mandatory training sessions to provide a foundation of knowledge needed to be an effective ally to LGBTQ+ students and those questioning their gender and/or sexuality. Students can also attend Safe Zones - an educational workshop that will provide basic allyship skills to better understand and support LGBTQ+ peers.
https://www.stevens.edu/LGBTQ

A select number of programs at Stevens encourage and support students of underrepresented groups to pursue advanced degrees and obtain skills and positions in teaching:

The Clare Boothe Luce Program encourages and supports women seeking to study or teach science, engineering, and mathematics. The CBL Program makes grants to 4-year degree granting institutions that demonstrate a strong commitment to support of women in STEM, to award scholarships to women students to cover the final two years of their undergraduate studies. CBL scholarship recipients are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research in order to motive them to pursue graduate studies. Stevens Institute of Technology is a 3-time recipient of the Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program grant over the last 12 years, which has been used to award scholarships to 7 women undergraduate students.

Stevens also offers a graduate fellowship from the New Jersey Alliance for Engineering Education, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 program, to create partnerships with local NJ high school science departments to promote the integration of problem solving, innovation, and inventiveness within the STEM curricula. This program provides funding to graduate students in STEM disciplines to develop enhanced teaching and communication skills by working in high school classrooms for up to 10 hours per week.

The Robert Crooks Stanley Fellowship is a Graduate teaching fellowship in Engineering and Science for students pursuing a doctorate or master’s degree and maintaining a 3.5 grade point average. Although the fellowship is open to all Stevens graduate students, women applicants are targeted and strongly encouraged to apply.

Stevens Technical Enrichment Program (STEP), a program to support and assist students from underrepresented backgrounds to achieve their academic, personal and career goals, runs two summer programs each year taught by graduate students. One of the programs offered is the STEP Bridge Summer Program, a 6 week residential program for incoming freshman. Bridge gives students a preview of the academic demands at Stevens and provides a transitional social experience. STEP also offers the Mathematics Immersion Program, a 3 week summer program for NJ college students who are recipients of an NJ EOF grant. The program helps students to improve their understanding of and increase their confidence with mathematics. Each year, STEP hires 7-8 Stevens graduate students to teach these programs. Because the students in these programs tend to be of underrepresented groups, graduate students of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply, however, these teaching positions are open to all graduate students.

All Gender Restroom list and map: https://www.stevens.edu/sites/stevens_edu/files/images/Name%2C%20Gender%2C%20Pronoun%20Changes.pdf