Improving the Academic Climate of an R1 STEM Department: Quantified Positive Shifts in Perception

Ongoing efforts to
improve diversity in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) primarily manifest as attempts to recruit more
women and individuals from historically marginalized groups. Yet,
these efforts fail to repair the specific, systemic issues within
academic communities that hinder diverse individuals from persisting
and thriving in STEM. Here, we present the results of a quantitative,
multiyear effort to make the academic climate of an R1 STEM department
more inclusive. We use a student-led, department-specific, faculty-supported
initiative to assess and improve the climate of the Department of
Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, as a case study.
Our results provide quantitative evidence that community discussions
grounded in our own data, alongside cooperative community efforts
to address the issues present in those data, are effective methods
for driving positive change. Longitudinal assessment of our academic
climate from 2018 to 2020 via annual department-wide surveys indicates
that these interventions have succeeded in shifting the perception
of our academic climate. This study confirms the positive outcomes
of having a practical, sustainable, and data-driven framework for
affecting change within a graduate community.