CECEM Professor to Examine Equity and Diversity Issues

Yu-Fu Ko, an associate professor in the Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management Department, has won a faculty research award to examine equity and diversity issues in the Civil Engineering program.

Ko’s project was one of 10 selected for CSULB’s inaugural Faculty Research Awards to Promote Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (FRA-EDI).

Ko said the proposed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) plan the project generates could be scalable to other departments and colleges, and even the wider campus. He said topics on equity, diversity, and inclusion within the Civil Engineering program will be assessed and studied.

Ko will conduct in-depth studies on faculty and student demographics, curriculum and teaching, research, mentoring, graduation, and advancement, and the departmental climate in relation to equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racist, and social justice. The study will continue through Spring 2022, and be sustainable after the project period. 

The EDI plan will integrate with research and educational efforts in engaging a greater number of both undergraduate and graduate students at CSULB for achieving transformational change on issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice. 

To reach the deepest levels of change, Ko said the project’s goals include growing leadership on teaching and research in relation to equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice, as well as expanding access and success for underrepresented populations, and creating a campus climate where everyone feels supported, included, and valued.

The project will meet many of the university and department strategic priorities laid out in the CSULB Beach 2030 Roadmap.