Agenda – 2021 Global Conference on Diversity in Aviation, Aerospace and STEM
Tuesday October 26, 2021
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Registration (Ballroom Lobby)
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Light Breakfast and Coffee (Ballroom Lobby)
8:35 – 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Opening Address (Ballroom)
Welcome Remarks from The Ohio State University Vice Provost James Moore, PhD and College of Engineering Assistant Dean Lisa Barclay
Opening address: Nawal Taneja, PhD
"Aviation: Innovation through Technology and Game-Changing Ideas Facilitated by Diversity"
Disruption is hardly a new concept in the aviation industry that has experienced, during the past five decades, numerous external interruptions and disorders as well as numerous internal developments. Recently, although the aviation industry has been impacted negatively by the spread of COVID-19, the industry is forecast to recover and continue its historic growth, given its resiliency. All sectors of the aviation industry are being transformed through advancements in technology and innovations relating to the development and operation of new forms of transportation systems. Moreover, innovation will be facilitated through game-changing ideas generated by diverse and inclusive teams.
9:45 – 10:30 Session One options
Session One (Pfahl Hall 140): Melanie Dickman, The Ohio State University
"Aviation Outreach: The Missing Links"
The aviation industry has historically suffered from a lack of diversity. Yet, despite various outreach initiatives, the needle hasn’t moved much in creating a diverse workforce within the industry. This is an issue as we strive to fill positions with the most qualified people and unless we attract people from a more diverse pool of candidates, we will be unable to leverage our greatest resources to the fullest potential. Join us as we explore the missing links regarding outreach initiatives and possible long-term solutions and strategies for reaching today’s youth, from kindergarten through high school. How do various motivational factors encountered in childhood affect career choices later in life? Is there such a thing as too early for outreach? Too late? What are we, as an industry, missing in our outreach efforts?
Session One (Pfahl Hall 302): Sathu Alagappan, Bath and Body Works
"Leveraging our Privilege to Help Others"
This session is focused on understanding how our ordinary privilege, the part of our identities that we think less about, is also the place we can wield our influence on behalf of others. We’ll talk about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion as a whole, take a step towards understanding what privilege is, work through some scenarios and gain a better understanding of what we can do right now to help others out. We’ll gain more knowledge on how what we think about least may right where we need to begin to do the most good.
10:35 – 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break (Pfahl Hall Lobby)
11:05 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Session Two
Session Two (Pfahl Hall 140): Laurel Van Horn and Katy O’Reilly, Open Doors Organization
"How Inclusive is Air Travel for Persons with Disabilities?"
Like other Americans, people with disabilities rely on air travel to take vacations, visit family and friends, and attend conferences and meetings. Open Doors Organization (ODO) will share their latest statistics on this large and growing market and discuss the federal regulations and international standards that have brought aviation to its current level of accessibility. Challenges, of course, still remain in design of airports and aircraft as well as in customer service. The presentation will conclude with an overview of how the aviation industry is now tackling some of these challenges and key changes that can make a difference moving forward.
12:15 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch address (Ballroom)
Carole Hopson, United Airlines, Inc. / Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Inc.
"100 Pairs of Wings: Empowering Communities Through Opportunities in Aviation"
Bessie Coleman’s historic achievement was a century ago. Yet today, according to Sisters of the Skies (SOS), a professional organization of Black women pilots founded in 2018, women make up approximately seven percent of U.S. pilots and less than 150 of our nation’s 100,000 professional pilots are Black women. Pilot and author Carole Hopson will share her approach to changing the face of the aviation industry of the future.
1:45 – 2:30 p.m. Session Three options
Session Three (Pfahl Hall 140): Kathleen Filbert, Piedmont Airlines, Inc.
"Best Practices for Building Employee Resource Groups in Aviation – Our Experience at Piedmont Airlines"
Building employee resource groups is a process that takes time, requires collaboration and is an ongoing effort that requires adapting and evolving. In aviation, we have a unique workforce with exclusive jobs and work environments, so how do we set the organization for success to build these groups? What are the benefits and advantages? In this session we hope to share some of the answers to those questions and how we continue to grow our ERG's.
Session Three (Pfahl Hall 302): Nicole Nieto, PhD, The Ohio State University
"Social Identity and Inclusive Dialogue: Unpacking Key Concepts and Creating Foundational Knowledge"
This workshop provides a foundational knowledge to participants of key terms and concepts including social identity, bias, privileged identities and targeted/marginalized identities. The workshop will begin with an overview of social identities (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, etc.). Participants will consider their own identities and how they experience these identities. The workshop uses intergroup dialogue methods to explore why valuing difference is so important to creating inclusive communities. This includes key strategies for inclusive and courageous dialogues. Through taking the time to understand different social identities, perspectives and experiences we begin to value diversity in a deeper and more meaningful way.
2:45 – 3:30 p.m. Session Four
Session Four (Pfahl Hall 140): Lisa Abrams, PhD, The Ohio State University
"How Can Faculty Influence Strife Between Students?"
How can we, as faculty, impact the classroom climate when there are conflicts between students? Professor Lisa Abrams will facilitate an inclusive classroom discussion about how to handle such conflicts. She will share research backed strategies to make the classroom more welcoming for all students.
3:35 – 4:00 p.m. Coffee Break (Pfahl Hall Lobby)
4:15 – 4:50 p.m. Session Five
Session Five (Pfahl Hall 140) Matthew Romero, Irene Miller, Steven Goetz, Julius Keller PhD, Kayla Estes-Romero
"Collegiate Aviation Diversity Culture: A Content Analysis of Aviation Program Websites"
The aviation industry suffers from a lack of diversity, and this study aims to understand the cultural elements that may attract or deter minoritized students from pursuing aviation degree programs. Students interested in attending a college or a university will make decisions based on their personal characteristics and organizational attributes of the schools such as programmatic offerings and culture. As students and their parents explore their academic options after high school, an institution’s website is among the first sources they use to learn about the school, its programs, and its culture. Using content analysis methodology to inventory diversity-related content, this study examines website content of Part 141 pilot schools operating at 2- and 4-year public and private higher education institutions in the U.S. Diversity indices calculated using graduation data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System allow us to compare the racial/ethnic composition of aviation degree programs to understand the influence website content may have on the graduation rates of minoritized populations. Preliminary findings indicate that the aviation programs in the sample are less diverse than their institutional counterparts, which may be the result of very little diversity-related content found on the landing pages of the aviation programs. Results from this study will provide a framework by which aviation program administrators can shape the content of their websites to include messaging that communicates cultures that are more supportive of the needs of diverse student populations.
Dinner on your own
Wednesday October 27
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Light Breakfast and Coffee (Pfahl Hall Lobby)
8:30 – 9:45 a.m. Opening Panel (Pfahl Hall 140): “Women who Lead in STEM”
Panelists:
Ayanna Howard, Dean, The Ohio State University College of Engineering
Lisa Morgan-Watson, Program Manager, NASA Human Landing Systems Program
Olga Custodio, Latino Pilots Association; Ret. Lt. Col, USAF; and Ret. Captain, American Airlines
10 – 10:15 a.m. Coffee Break (Pfahl Hall Lobby)
10:15 – 11 a.m. Session Six
Session Six (Pfahl Hall 140): Sandra Dawkins and Sue Knoblaugh, The Ohio State University
"Why is Diversity Important to Veterinary Medicine?: Commitment to Growth"
Diversity is about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences based on ethnicity, gender, color, age, race, religion, disability, national origin and sexual orientation. It also includes an infinite range of individual unique characteristics and experiences, such as communication style, career path, life experience, educational background, geographic location, income level, marital status, military experience, parental status and other variables that influence personal perspectives. Creating socially conscious work environments and removing barriers to inclusion and equity are important goals in any profession - including veterinary medicine. The world and our local communities are becoming more diverse every day and veterinarians provide a vital role in their service to our communities. Veterinary medicine, however, is not nearly as diverse as the people it serves and, in fact, lags behind other healthcare professions. The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine recognizes and values the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) to the veterinary profession and has incorporated DEIB as an integral part of the college in order to enhance the profession and best serve our clients and the animal populations of our communities.
11:05 a.m. – 12 p.m. Closing Remarks (Pfahl Hall 140)