UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three scholars in the Penn State College of Education who have demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) have been serving as Equity Fellows during the 2023-24 academic year.

Assistant professors of education Javier Casado Pérez, Lydia Ocasio-Stoutenburg and Tanner Vea were selected as the college’s Equity Fellows for 2023-24. Fellows are granted one course release per semester to provide the time needed to engage in program- or department-level work that aligns with the college’s commitment to DEIB and anti-racism and furthers our progress.

“The College of Education is always striving for equity and inclusivity within our educational systems,” said Dean Kim Lawless. “Drs. Casado Pérez, Ocasio-Stoutenburg and Vea are all at the forefront of excellence in DEIB and invaluable contributors to the college’s goal of antiracism and mission of changing education by educating for change.”

The Equity Fellow program, which had its first cohort of faculty in the 2022-23 academic year, enacts an important commitment of the College of Education’s Strategic Plan: “Establish a Faculty Fellows program in the college that will provide leadership opportunities for faculty members in the areas of teaching, engagement, diversity, and other areas as needed.” The Equity Fellows program enhances the effectiveness of ongoing DEIB and antiracist efforts in the college. Additionally, the program positions the college as an innovative hub for the creation and dissemination of antiracist and equity-oriented policies, practices and tools that can serve as models for other units and institutions.

Casado Pérez’s project, “The Counselor Education Equity-Minded Curricular Review” advances the College of Education Strategic Plan’s Curricular and Instructional Assessment objective by conducting a thorough and formative appraisal of an existing program’s curricula and instructional materials. Relying on narrative review strategies and pattern-based discourse analysis, Casado Pérez is examining the language and context of curricular materials to draw meaning in social, cultural and political terms.

“Being selected as an Equity Fellow provided the opportunity to do meaningful, equity-minded work on behalf of our program, a program that had such an important impact on my own career,” Casado Pérez said.

For Ocasio-Stoutenberg’s project, “We Rise: Equity-Centered Assessment, Mentoring, and Communities of Practice,” she has engaged faculty in focus groups and intensive interviews in order to illuminate their experiences, actions and aspirations of equity. Drawing from these insights, she is conceptualizing and piloting mentoring communities of practice tailored to the needs of both faculty and graduate students.

“As a Black woman scholar whose work centers equity, this fellowship provides me with the resources and support to focus on a project that carries both meaning and possibility,” Ocasio-Stoutenburg said. “This is much more than an individual endeavor; we engage in collective reflection and dialogue as Equity Fellows, along with our mentors. Additionally, connecting my project with some of the fellows from the inaugural Equity Fellows class has fostered a sense of continuity.”

Vea’s initiative, “Building Capacity for Equity-Centered Learning Sciences Research Collaborations” brings faculty together for a series of collaborative conversations and activities that aims to “grow our collective capacity to understand the roles of power and equity in our areas of research, collaborate on equity-focused research projects, and seek external funding.” The project will culminate in an open meeting for the College of Education, and an associated report, to share processes for strengthening Penn State’s scholarly identity and collaborative capacity in equity-focused learning sciences.

“This project is an opportunity to bring together Penn State learning sciences faculty who are in different departments and have limited opportunities to interact, let alone collaborate,” Vea said. “Receiving the Equity Fellowship is a message that our equity- and justice-focused scholarship is valued and should be nurtured. I’m excited by the conversations we are already having and the relationships we are building in our group.”

The experiences of the 2023-24 fellows have been shaped, in part, by those of the first cohort. The College of Education Equity Fellows in 2022-23 and their respective projects included:

• Janice Byrd, assistant professor of education (counselor education): "‘I Am Because We Are’ Working Toward Antiracism Through Race-Based Affinity Groups for College of Education Graduate Students of Color”  
• Ashley Patterson, associate professor of education (literacies and English language): “Educational Equity in Triplicate: College, University, & Community Level Engagement Efforts”  
• Julia Green Bryan, professor of education (counselor education): “Understanding and Implementing an Anti-Racist, Antideficit Program to Onboard, Mentor, and Support Faculty of Color”  
• Matthew McCrudden, professor of education (educational psychology): “How Can Graduate Programs Prepare Graduate Students to Develop an Antiracist Lens for Professional and Personal Development?”

Both Green Bryan and McCrudden served as Equity Leadership Fellows, creating opportunities for working across department lines and strengthening connections within the college.”

Byrd’s Equity Fellows project continues to impact the college with the launch of Resonance, an affinity group for graduate students of color. Azaria Cunningham, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, curated spaces for graduate students to connect with faculty from similar cultural backgrounds and share information.

“Being one of the inaugural Equity Fellows in the Penn State College of Education has proven pivotal in facilitating my connection with graduate students/faculty of color across the college, deepening my community-engaged scholar identity, and propelling my academic research agenda,” Byrd said.