By Rebecca V. Frazee and Lisa Stephens of FLEXspace.org, featuring guest contributors: Sarah Baillie, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program director – University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Dr. Patrice Prusko Torcivia, Director, Learning Design, Technology and Media – Teaching and Learning Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Farhat “Meena” Lakhavani, CIO of the Kennedy School at Harvard.

By Rebecca V. Frazee and Lisa Stephens of FLEXspace.org, featuring guest contributors: Sarah Baillie, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program director – University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Dr. Patrice Prusko Torcivia, Director, Learning Design, Technology and Media – Teaching and Learning Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Farhat “Meena” Lakhavani, CIO of the Kennedy School at Harvard.

To browse details, images, floor plans, and more from spaces featured in this column, plus hundreds more, log in to FLEXspace.org and visit the Gallery “HEAV –  HEAV – Higher Ed AV Magazine Feature”

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This month, our #1 HEAV friend Joe Way suggested we might want to focus on a “Women in STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) update.  Confession time… I grew up in the ’60s and now am in my 60s.  I have a few years on my FLEXspace partner Rebecca, so we compared notes.  Originally an Electrical Engineering major, Rebecca later shifted to Psychology and Business.  Say what? Really? EE? When I was busily majoring in graphic design, my social circle was filled with male engineering friends. I don’t recall ever meeting a woman in a technology-related field during my undergrad years in the late 70s.  It was an elective film class that landed technology on my radar.  I loved the creative process with film and video and quickly recognized that no matter how great a narrative “vision” is – it can’t be realized with poor lighting, the wrong frame rate, poor mic placement, or lousy camera work!

We both love how technology supports creativity.  After some time working in clinical research, Rebecca moved into an MS and EdD program in Education, with concentrations in EdTech, and I followed a similar path, but with a decade between each degree.  We both “backed into” technology-enabling pedagogy, but just a few birth years between us made a big difference in the career options available. This month, we checked in with several leaders to ask how the equity evolution is shaping up. How timely that Rebecca has a new role as a Digital Equity Education Analyst at UC San Francisco!

Expanding Equity in AV for Women

Lisa: Most of the women of my generation “fell into” a technology-related field – but now more gals are intentionally choosing to work in engineering, AV, and IT environments – am I correct?

Yes! I still think that a lot of women come to college with general interests, and their studies introduce them to areas related to technology where they discover an interest. 

Obviously here in UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, I work with a lot of young women who have already determined they want to enter an engineering discipline. It’s a great way to combine technology and service into a career path that can make significant contributions benefitting all kinds of people and humanity in general!

Sarah

Lisa: How did you come to be attracted to technology and engineering? 

My interest traces back to a biology degree that included a lot of field work. I then realized that I could influence the direction of “good works” by working in educational enterprises and earned an MS in public administration – where I learned a lot about organizational behavior!  

Sarah

Prior to becoming an instructional designer, I completed  a degree in mechanical engineering and MBA.  My own lived experience informed my PhD research on the systems level structures that impact inclusive and transformational learning experiences, especially for first generation and underrepresented STEM students.  My passion is to increase global access to STEM education for all women – which will in turn enable communities around the globe to flourish.

Patrice

My experience is similar to Lisa’s – not surprising because we’re a little closer in age – but my added dimension is being an immigrant and not growing up in American culture.  I have an accent that sounds different from most, and I may even think a little differently – which I hope compliments diversity.  I was attracted to higher education because I thought there would be more opportunities for growth than where I began my career in industry.  I shifted to a prominent research university 35 years ago to help faculty use technology in research.  The first time I prepared a presentation, it was awful – I was on one side of a table, the other side was full of big guys with booming voices!  I’m very small in stature so the contrast was pronounced!  I began shaking and my mind went blank. The space and seating arrangement felt awkward, confrontational, and intimidating – even though I knew it wasn’t intended! 

Meena

Lisa: Your work involves advocacy for women in STEM, what are some “big ticket items” that people should know about DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts?

Diversity is not a “nice to have” it’s a bottom line “need to have” to be competitive and successful, whether the work is on a machine shop floor, a sales call, or the boardroom! McKinsey & Company long ago quantified how companies embracing diversity benefit from a range of input that improves products and services. 

Culturally, in the States, along with others around the globe, we’re becoming more aware of our collective humanity.  There’s a link between loyalty, productivity and how connected people feel to their environment – both with shared workforce goals and interpersonal relationships.  My office leads activities to instill a sense of “belonging” to all students.  Yes, women may be the focus, but they invite their friends across campus to networking events like “WiSE and Shine” breakfast sharing or “Crafternoons” where we relax, chat, create and craft! Our activities are fun and help de-stress students, but we also discuss issues like “wage gaps” and how to negotiate. Men often have not had the same type of experiences, but with raised awareness, they become strong allies and advocates. It’s a huge benefit to employers because it helps develop “soft skills” and a cooperative mindset that drives productivity at multiple levels.

Sarah

I still hear stories of unacceptable behavior targeting women,ranging from microaggressions and harassment, to their voices not being heard in meetings and the ‘glass cliff’  But awareness is growing, and we continue to make progress in the workplace.  People are much more intentional about their choice of language.  The critical and difficult conversations are having a positive impact! 

Patrice

(Take a listen to 2019 HEAV Podcast 045: Gina Sansivero and Corey Moss discus the practice of trade show “Booth Babes” and “#WomenInAV)

Lisa: I agree it takes time – crudeness was common in my first few jobs as a teenager and young adult, but when I share those stories – students – both men and women – look at me with shock and surprise.  But a lot of that behavior was part of the work culture at that time.  Nobody should be “demonized” or use statements that paint with a broad brush (e.g., “all men… women always… minority students are…”).  It’s not fair, and certainly outdated.  

PMy spirits are buoyed by the remarkable work that men are doing to be allies and mentoring women to help launch them on meaningful, fulfilling career paths. Yes, of course  it’s wrong to paint any group of people with a “broad brush” to borrow your term.   As we continue to have open, honest conversations about identities and intersectionality, people are gaining a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of their colleagues, and how best we can support one another., and people need to identify with others. It’s powerful to see others who look like you or come from a similar background in the career you aspire toward, and we need to continue to build on the work around not just hiring for diversity, but building a culture of equity where a wide range of people can feel a sense of belonging. It may require a little extra effort on the part of a young person to develop those relationships to realize benefit from them.

Patrice

Indeed! This is what my office hopes students will take advantage of – not just networking opportunities, but practical “lessons learned” on how to adapt what they’re exposed to through the WiSE office to bring into a new workplace.  It’s also another set of tools to learn what may not be present in a work environment, to help judge when it may be time to look for a new role.

Sarah

People of all ages are realizing the importance of a support network, it’s kind of like having a personal board of directors.  As people learn how to examine job descriptions, we’re seeing an evolution of terminology that signals inclusive commitments to work/life balance or being  “family friendly” by offering a flexible work environment that supports the wide range of care duties that is needed for both men and women. 

Patrice

Resiliency is the key.  I was resilient enough to accept that job offer, even though the early experiences were a real challenge.  It was if my employer could see promise in me, and visa-versa. I could see a better salary and career – they had a day care center right on campus before that was a popular service to offer employees.  At the time, I also didn’t realize how much I would value the educational benefits – not just for me, but my children as well!

Meena

Lisa: I have heard that the people now entering the workforce are quicker to leave their roles if the workforce culture is not supportive, is this true in your experience?

Absolutely.  Our region has a large bio-pharm presence and employees (not just early career) will “walk” if the workplace culture is not built on equity, inclusion and belonging.   It seems this is the case around the country – more emphasis on health, wellness and family balance.Through intentional professional development, and spaces where people can feel safe having open, honest conversations, there is an increasing understanding of intersectionality, how our identities inform how we interact with others, and how we can best create a work culture that retains the diverse group of people we know organizations need to be successful.  Importantly –  people are realizing the learning never ends, and we need to continue to do the work, and step-in on a daily basis. If you make a mistake, apologize and acknowledge that, and learn from it

Male metrics have historically been used to define “normal.”   I recall a story of the first female president at a prestigious institution entering her office and realizing that she could not use the historic desk that had been used by every male president since the campus was built.   It didn’t fit, there was no front edge (modesty) panel, so she parted with tradition. 

Patrice

Space that support conversation and collaboration with technology is critical.  We’re paying more attention to how the CIO’s across the different schools can share information a little more effectively – there’s a lot of time, money and effort that can be saved just by sharing information!  

Meena

That’s our key FLEXspace talking point!

Lisa

When I look at my daughter’s work, who is an engineer in industry, she doesn’t even think of herself as different.  She’s working alongside a very diverse team of engineers investigating applications of AI and machine learning and it’s wonderful to see her navigate her early career in ways I could not have imagined – even with lots of personal resilience!  

Each role I’ve worked in has provided an opportunity to learn more about myself, the environment and the people around me.  I’m happy to bring people together to work on a shared solution – recently I did that at my current campus (Harvard) but it’s the same approach as I had while in Buffalo.  Let’s identify common needs, get smart people of all types around the table, and figure it out!  I long ago realized that there’s not a complete balance of people working in technology related fields and do what I can to be as welcoming and supportive as possible to anyone that enters of sphere of influence!

Meena

Details are available in FLEXspace

In Closing

Thank you again to our generous FLEXspace friends for contributing their stories. Feel free to reach out to learn more about their BYOD efforts and other campus learning space stories, and see other BYOD examples in FLEXspace. 

The FLEXspace Team

REBECCA V. FRAZEE, Ph.D.
Faculty, Learning Design & Technology Program
San Diego State University
Associate Director, FLEXspace.org 

Dr. Rebecca Vaughan Frazee recently joined the University of California San Francisco as a Digital Equity Education Analyst, helping the IT Education team ensure equitable provisioning of a robust teaching and learning environment to meet the needs of the UCSF faculty and students and serve the UCSF education mission. Rebecca is a former faculty member in the Learning Design and Technology program at San Diego State University, School of Journalism and Media Studies where she taught for over 15 years and served as a faculty peer mentor. ]

The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange (FLEXspace.org) is an award-winning community and open digital repository for higher ed that houses a growing collection of user-contributed content “by campuses for campuses,” with detailed examples of formal and informal learning spaces ranging from multimedia studios, maker spaces, computer labs, hybrid/flexible classrooms, and huddle spaces to large exhibit spaces, simulation labs and renovated lecture halls. FLEXspace was launched in 2012 as a collaboration between SUNY, the CSU Cal State University system, and Foothill-DeAnza Community College District and has since grown to include over 5000 members from 1400 campuses around the world, with PennState joining the partnership in 2019. FLEXspace won the Campus Technology Innovators Award in 2016, and the California Higher Education (CHEC) Collaborative Conference Focus on Efficiency Award in 2018.

FLEXspace users include practitioners, experts, and decision-makers in higher education, K-12, libraries, and museums who are focused on campus planning and facilities, learning technology, A/V systems integration, instructional design, teaching, and research. The FLEXspace portal provides a sophisticated suite of features that enables users to document and showcase their own campus learning spaces, share research, best practices, and tools for planning.