Intentionally Cultivating STEM Identity to Promote Diversity and Inclusion
Join Dr. Lourdes P. Norman-McKay to explore ways to shape students' STEM identity as a means of encouraging success and retention of underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines.
Dr. Lourdes P. Norman-McKay, Professor, Florida State College Jacksonville
Research reveals that students who have a STEM identity — that is, they can envision themselves as belonging in STEM careers — are more likely to succeed in STEM courses and thereby pursue STEM careers as compared to students who lack a STEM identity. Fortunately, we can intentionally help our students cultivate their STEM identity. Join us to explore ways to shape students' STEM identity as a means of encouraging success and retention of underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines.
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About the speaker
Dr. Lourdes P. Norman-McKay, Professor, Florida State College Jacksonville
Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay is a professor at Florida State College Jacksonville, where peers and students recognized her with the Outstanding Faculty Award. After earning a degree in microbiology from the University of Florida, she completed a PhD in biochemistry and a postdoctoral specialization in microbiology and immunology at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. In her nearly two decades as a scientist-educator, she has trained thousands of healthcare professionals and secured extensive federal funding to promote STEM education and empower underrepresented groups in STEM. In addition to authoring market-leading texts in microbiology with Pearson and Morton Publishing, her considerable STEM program development experience ranges from designing and launching a biomedical sciences baccalaureate program to serving as a curriculum designer and subject matter expert for the Florida Space Research Institute and Workforce Florida.
As a speaker for the US Department of State’s International Information Programs, Dr. Norman-McKay served in diplomacy outreach to empower women and youth in STEM, bolster STEM education, and build STEM capacity in Central Asia. In 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in coordination with the US State Department, selected Dr. Norman-McKay as a Jefferson Science Fellow –– a prestigious award granted to a handful of American collegiate faculty. In this role she will serve as a Senior Science Policy Advisor to the State Department’s Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy.