Every person has characteristics, beliefs, values and affiliations that they identify with. These identities can define and distinguish people from one another while also shaping communities and behaviors, and influencing how people interact with the world around them. There are some identities that people may be reluctant to share — called concealable stigmatized identities, or CSIs.

RISE Center researchers and PhD students Jynx Pigart and Olivia Davis, along with a group of 15 Arizona State University students traveled to Denver, Colorado, last week for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest general science conference in the world. The Center for Biology and Society and Barrett, The Honors College co-sponsor ASU students to travel to the AAAS conference each year and compete in the meeting’s poster competition.

This past fall, Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and university provost, created a new honor, the Charter Professor, to specifically recognize exceptional ASU tenure-track and career-track faculty members engaged in projects that advance the values of the ASU Charter. The appointment comes with significant funding for Charter Professors’ projects over a period of three years. RISE Center director Sara Brownell was named Charter Professor this year for her research on inclusive excellence in undergraduate STEM education.

Sara Brownell, President’s Professor in the School of Life Sciences and Center for Biology and Society at Arizona State University, has been named an inaugural Charter Professor in recognition of her commitment and contributions that reflect the values of ASU’s charter: inclusion and success, research of public value and assuming responsibility for the well-being of the community. Charter Professor appointments are three-year terms providing discretionary funding to be used to complete the project outlined in the professor’s proposal. 

The subject of faculty revealing concealable stigmatized identities in science and engineering classes led to Brownell having some questions. Why don't more instructors reveal their concealed identity to students? Are those that do then stigmatized? And how beneficial is this practice?

In a new study published in Life Sciences Education, Arizona State University researchers and RISE Center members Katey Cooper, Tala Araghi and Carly Busch highlight how active learning has the potential to both alleviate and exacerbate depressive symptoms in undergraduates. 

Fear of negative evaluation, or FNE, is defined as a sense of dread associated with being negatively judged in a social situation. In a classroom setting, FNE might prevent a student from raising their hand, make them second-guess their knowledge of the subject matter, or cause them to break out in a cold sweat when asked to answer a question in front of the whole class. As part of a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), ASU Online students engage in real research touching on a variety of issues, including the impact of FNE. 

Women throughout history have made significant contributions in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through their contributions, they have opened doors and paved the way for others to advance the work they’ve started and make contributions and discoveries of their own. During this Women's History Month, RISE Center Assistant Director Kristen Parrish and RISE Center associate faculty Ara Austin were both recently celebrated for their roles in advancing STEM education.

RISE Center director Sara Brownell won the Founder's Day Teaching Achievement Award, an event that celebrates the innovations and contributions of alumni, faculty members and supporters who reflect the vision, tenacity and hard work of its founders, leaders, faculty, students and alumni through the years. Founders’ Day is a celebration of this founding spirit.

Each spring, the ASU Alumni Association hosts Founders' Day, Arizona State University's signature event that honors the changemakers who exemplify the pioneering leaders who founded the university's predecessor, the Tempe Normal School. RISE Center Director Sara Brownell was chosen to be this year’s recipient of the 2023 Faculty Teaching Award.