ODEI Spotlight:

GRASPing Greatness: Abriana Stewart-Height’s Impact in Academia and Beyond

As a doctoral student in Electrical and Systems Engineering and researcher in Dan Koditschek’s locomotion-centric group of the GRASP Lab, Stewart-Height developed ways for four-legged robots to recover movement after suffering limb loss, in order to preserve these machines and their valuable data, even in complex, dangerous surroundings.  “I really want the research I do in robotics to have a broader impact,” says Stewart-Height.

Stewart-Height also wanted to have an impact on the community, so she frequently volunteered on behalf of GRASP and Penn Engineering and joined the Greater Philadelphia Professionals Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). “Penn Engineering has a lot of STEM outreach activities that involve K-12 students,” says Stewart-Height. “In addition to working with kids directly, I’ve talked to parents about different ways that they can get their children involved and keep them involved in STEM.” Read More

Exposure to Engineering

In 2008, Penn GEMS held its inaugural camp, which was the brainchild of Penn Engineering’s Advancing Women in Engineering (AWE) group. The camp was originally intended to inspire participation in the sciences for middle school girls. Though the target audience has been expanded, GEMS’ mission has remained steadfast: to provide hands-on experience to middle school students who are interested in many engineering disciplines including bioengineering, nanotechnology, computer science, and materials science. The program is overseen by Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which prioritizes outreach efforts at the School and K-12 level to expand the pipeline of future engineers who reflect the diversity of the U.S. and the global community.  Read More

Kevin Johnson Gives Juneteenth Address

Kevin Johnson, Penn Integrates Knowledge and David L. Cohen University Professor with joint appointments in the Department of Computer and Information Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics in the Perelman School of Medicine, gave a Juneteenth address to the Penn Engineering community on Wednesday, June 14. Read More

Penn Engineering’s First Community STEM Field Day

As part of the School’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM, Penn Engineering’s community outreach team hosted its inaugural STEM Field Day on Thursday, April 20. Held at Penn Park, the event served as a culminating activity and end-of-year celebration for students in Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s Fife-Penn STEM & CS Academy and Heights Philadelphia Middle Grades Academy after-school programs. Read More

'STEM Goes Red' with Penn

On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, Penn Engineering’s Community Outreach Team, under the leadership of Chanda Jefferson, Director of Community Engagement and Outreach, joined the American Heart Association’s STEM Goes Red initiative at Lincoln Financial Field. Hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles, Penn Engineering served as the STEM breakout session sponsor. Read More

Projects for Progress, Two Years In

In 2021, three Projects for Progress (P4P) teams set out to improve the quality of life in West Philadelphia: one by addressing the primary care needs of homeless and underserved people, one by revamping the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center, and one by addressing the COVID-induced learning gap in elementary school students and educators. An Oct. 17 event celebrated the work of these teams and their 2022 counterparts. Six P4P groups have received awards since the initiative’s inception. Read More

Bolstering Environmental Education in Cobbs Creek

For the last year, with support from a Projects for Progress (P4P) award, a team from Penn has collaborated with Center staff and the Cobbs Creek community to enhance resources to support similar learning opportunities at the CCCEC. Their goal is to promote equitable access to STEM education for residents of the Cobbs Creek neighborhood. “Now more than ever, our society understands the value of green spaces and of STEM education, and the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center provides both for West Philadelphia families and students,” says President Liz Magill.  Read More

Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dedicates New Suite to Foundational Figures

On December 3, 2021, ODEI cut the ribbon on its new suite in the Towne Building, featuring a conference room and study space dedicated to two of its foundational figures: Ms. Cora Ingrum, ODEI’s former Director, and Ms. Donna Hampton, the office’s longtime administrative assistant. Read More

News

Engineering Changemakers: Honoring Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton

09.13.2023 | Read More

Penn GEMS Brings STEM to Summer Camp

08.24.2023 | Read More

Advancing Women in Engineering Welcomes the Class of 2027

08.22.2023 | Read More

Events of Interest

2024 Celebration of Diversity

Event Details

ODEI Events + Programming Spotlight:

Penn Engineering Reflection Room

Penn Engineering students are encouraged to take advantage of the recently established Reflection Room for prayer and meditation located in Hayden Hall.

Hayden Hall | Room 120C | The door to the Reflection Room is usually unlocked

Available 7am-5pm, Monday through Friday!

A Statement on the Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision

At Penn, our students join the most vibrant and diverse community they may ever know. This type of community is essential to their preparation to lead in a pluralistic, global society and to contribute to the creation of knowledge, all at the highest levels of excellence. To do this, our students must live and learn with others who, owing to their paths through life, bring many and varied perspectives, experiences, personal qualities, interests, ambitions, and insights.

This decision will require changes in our admissions practices. But our values and beliefs will not change. Bringing together individuals who have wide-ranging experiences that inform their approach to their time at Penn is fundamental to excellent teaching, learning, and research. In full compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision, we will seek ways to admit individual students who will contribute to the kind of exceptional community that is essential to Penn’s educational mission.

Tour the New Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion!

Join Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Camillo "CJ" Taylor, as he shows off our new office space on the second floor of the historic Towne Building. Featuring a look inside the Donna Hampton Study Space and Cora Ingrum Conference Room, we are excited to share this space with you!

ODEI Strategic Plan

Penn Engineering is passionately committed to attracting, nurturing, and graduating engineers whose diversity reflects our society in all respects, including race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, creed, and socioeconomic background. Moreover, we seek to ensure all of our community members share an understanding of the importance of fighting bias and maximizing inclusion for the sake of the engineering profession and for the benefit of society at large. Through this, we aim for our graduates to pursue and develop ideas and innovations that will benefit all of humanity.

Penn Engineering's Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Penn Compact 2022 affirms Inclusion as a means toward the essential ends of higher education: equalizing opportunity, educating leaders for all sectors of society, and enriching the experience of all members of the University community. Penn Engineering remains strongly committed to initiatives that support the University’s efforts to achieve an educational and employment environment that is diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, interests, abilities and perspectives. We strive to attract a diverse community of students and faculty, to provide an accessible, rigorous engineering education, and to improve our local and global communities through engineering.


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