Poster Abstracts

Purdue University

Transforming Faculty & Staff through Diversity Forums

In 1998 the College of Engineering in conjunction with DuPont developed and implemented multicultural forums in response to the corporation’s concerns about diversity in the classroom and the workforce.

These forums have been designed as 2.5 day, off site workshops for faculty and staff with participation from students and alumni. Results show that these forums take the participants, beyond awareness and toward attitudinal shifts and a more complete understanding of diversity issues. Later, forums focused on gender were introduced to complete the diversity spectrum.

These forums are now offered to faculty and staff throughout the STEM disciplines and administrated through the Office of the Provost. Over 700 faculty and staff at Purdue University have attended these ongoing forums.