News Article

In an effort to bring demographic and diversity issues to the forefront of iUTAHns’ minds, 72 participants met for an All-Hands Meeting in Salt Lake City. This year’s meeting was held on November 13, 2015 at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

In her opening remarks, iUTAH Project Director Michelle Baker discussed developments, activities, initiatives, and the positive evaluation from the Year 4 Reverse Site Visit with the National Science Foundation. She also recognized iUTAH as a catalyst for “communicating lessons learned, relationships forged, mindsets changed, and cultures transformed, ” urging participants to continue to communicate their successes to the iUTAH Project Office, and the greater community of stakeholders and constituents of which we are a part.

The morning keynote address was given by Pamela Perlich, Director of Demographic Research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, at the University of Utah, who talked about understanding the changing demographics of Utah, asserted that “change is our constant companion.”

In a conversation after her talk, Perlich said “an important and urgent reality to consider is that we have new people in our community who are not being given a voice, not being given the opportunity to be a part of important decision-making processes. Their inclusion in our problem solving, in our creative processes, would lead us to better solutions more quickly.”

“Humans have solved problems long before there were markets, or money, or even numbers, let alone data,” said Perlich, adding that “Data is just information.”

In addition to formal talks, much time was devoted to networking and the sharing of information. Over lunch, iUTAH postdoctoral scholars Rachel Gabor, Melissa Haeffner, Krishna Khatri, and Erik Oerter gave updates on their work. The importance of dialogue and exchanges such as these were expressed in Melissa’s talk as she said, “you mention water in Utah, and people start talking.”

Later in the afternoon, Angela Enno, Program Coordinator with the Multicultural/Access and Diversity Center at Utah State University discussed collective identity. Her talk focused on promoting the participation of diverse groups of students, faculty, and staff in STEM fields.

Drawing on data from her work with the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Enno shared the preliminary results of interviews focused on measuring the importance of helping minority groups find communities in higher education.

The last part of the day was devoted to RFA breakout sessions, where thoughts, ideas, and actions were discussed.

The next iUTAH All-Hands Meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2016, and will be held in conjunction with the Spring Runoff Conference at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.