Dr. Kelly Mack, the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, spoke in the EMU on Monday about attaining diversity in STEM education. Dr. Mack, who was introduced by University of Oregon President Michael Schill, kicked off the five-part UO African American Workshop and Lecture Series.
“We want to make sure that anyone who wants to pursue STEM, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, has access to STEM,” Dr. Mack said.
Her presentation touched on Oregon’s deeply racist history and how that past is at odds with its progressive reputation. She said that higher education in Oregon has made a lot of progress recently with regards to diversity, but there is “a lot more work to be done.”
Dr. Mack pointed out that only 1.6 percent of current Ph.D. candidates in STEM fields at UO are African American. She says that those in positions of privilege and power have to help increase diversity in higher education.
“It’s not about giving up your privilege, it’s about using it to help others,” Dr. Mack said. “Diversity and inclusion has to change from the top down and bottom up.”
The African American Workshop and Lecture Series at UO comes in the wake of the Black Student Task Force’s release of 12 demands last November. Dr. Mack touched on those demands Monday.
“I hope to hear several years down the line that there are no more demands from black students, because there is no longer a need for them. I want to see a campus where everyone feels comfortable.”
The next workshop in the series will take place over four days, from Oct. 31-Nov. 3, when Lady Georgina Theodora Wood, Ghana’s first female Supreme Court Justice, comes to speak on change in the judiciary system.