Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center)
Colloquium Series

Presents

Ezekiel Kimball, Ph.D.

College of Education and Human Development, University of Maine

Monday, December 5, 3:00–4:00 p.m.
Barrows 123 and Zoom
(link and passcode available by email)

Quilted Backbones in Collective Impact Partnership:
Examining a Broadening STEM Participation Program as a Feminist Matrix Organization

Abstract:

Using qualitative interview data from a larger mixed methods study, we examined STEMSUCCESS, a pseudonym for a broadening STEM participation program for K-12 girls, to determine how it achieved consistently laudable results over a sustained period of time without utilizing traditional coordination structures. Although STEMSUCCESS exhibits characteristics of collective impact partnerships (one of the partnership models advanced as a best practice by the NSF), STEMSUCCESS lacks a standard backbone organization or function. Based on data from these interviews, we theorize STEMSUCCESS as a feminist, matrix organization that accomplishes its backbone function through a non-hierarchical, decentralized structure. We explore the metaphor of a quilt, wherein every part of the quilt is simultaneously important yet replaceable and efforts to “patch” holes in the quilt add to its beauty and strength. Implications from this project suggest the potential for reduced monetary and temporal costs in partnerships centered on broadening participation. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, Award # 1834897.

Bio:

Ezekiel (Zeke) Kimball is Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Teacher Education and a Professor of Higher Education in the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development. His research focuses on: 1) disability identity development and disabled student success; 2) knowledge use and production in higher education; and 3) the relationships between identity, identity development, and postsecondary learning environments. Zeke presently serves as co-Executive Editor (along with Ryan Wells, University of Massachusetts Amherst) for the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability as well as on the editorial board for the Journal of College Student Development. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

To be added to the Colloquium email list and receive the Zoom link and passcode, please email the RiSE Center: risecenter@maine.edu.

To request a reasonable accessibility accommodation, please contact the RiSE Center by email or phone: 207.581.4672.