The 2021 Summer Institute

by Abigail Mercatoris-Morrison and Will Rizzo

Two hundred of Virginia Tech’s faculty, staff, and administration met in May at the 2021 Summer Institute for three days of professional development as the university looked ahead to the Fall 2021 Semester to welcome the most diverse first-year class in its history.

“When we think about the pandemic, we have to ask ourselves, how do we serve our students going forward?” asked G. Don Taylor, executive vice provost, in his address to the conference. “Education is a vital component of solutions to many of the hard issues that we’ve dealt with in the last year, and I’m incredibly thankful to the Virginia Tech community, including our students, for coming together in peaceful but meaningful dialogue to work towards actionable change.”

The annual institute was hosted by Virginia Tech’s Pathways to General Education, First-Year Experiences, and Inclusive Excellence programs and supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Events ranged from plenary sessions and panels to roundtable discussions and workshops, including faculty wellness sessions hosted by Hokie Wellness.

Faculty heard from several administrators, including Juan Espinoza, associate vice provost for enrollment management, who described the incoming first-year class as the most diverse in the university’s history. The class is expected to represent 51 countries and to be 10.5 percent Latinx, 20 percent first generation, and 8.7 percent African American or students indicating two or more races including African American.

In two virtual sessions, students shared their perspectives on creating belonging and community, particularly for first-generation and minoritized and marginalized students.

The first panel, facilitated by Rex Waters, associate director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, featured four current students Nala Miller, Caroline Chappell, Allan Beres, and Beth Marsico. The discussion focused on First-Year Experiences courses and steps professors can take to help students transition academically and introduce them to their chosen discipline.

“I’ve had really positive experiences with my professors at Virginia Tech. I’m a first-generation student and some of my professors shared that they were too,” said Beth Marsico, a rising senior double majoring in psychology and human development. “It’s really cool to see that relatability. I’ve always felt welcome and never ‘less than’ because I’m a first-gen student.”

For another student, her general education courses helped make connections across the university.

“My Pathways classes put me with students from different majors and made me feel like I not only have a community in the School of Communications, but also part of the wider community on campus,” said Caroline Chappell, a rising senior majoring in communications, with a minor in consumer studies. “It really broadened my horizons.”

The conference also featured a panel discussion from Inclusive Excellence, a university initiative led by program director Jill Sible and funded by a five-year, $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, focused on improving the success for marginalized students in science. The dialogue was facilitated by Director of Diversity Education Programs Alicia Cohen, and featured students fellows Demisha Porter, Senija Davis, Wynnie Avent, and Sara Gallegos.

The conversation concentrated on steps instructors can make in the classroom to help students of diverse back grounds feel a sense of belonging. “Listen to people who feel differently and live differently than yourself,” said Senija Davis, a junior majoring in Spanish with a minor in leadership and social change. “The point is not to come up with an answer, not to come up with a response, but to hear them out.”

Another fellow emphasised the importance of having these conversations around campus.

“This is the only time I’ve been asked about my background and experiences, which I appreciate,” said Sara Gallegos, a rising junior majoring in biochemistry, with a minor in chemistry. “However, I do want to see topics like these discussed more in classes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them addressed.”

The issues raised by students were echoed by Shannon Brady, the conference’s keynote speaker and an assistant professor of psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her research examines how institutional practices and messages impact student experience and well-being.

“For students from racial-minority backgrounds, women, first-generation students, students who have sexual minority status, all of those identities can make them more liable to worry and to wonder,” said Brady.

In her keynote address, Brady offered five strategies to help faculty and staff to support their students in the classroom. “Remove cues that trigger worries, support communal goals, convey a growth mindset, normalize difficulty, and explicitly value diversity,” said Brady.

After three days of online sessions, the virtual con-ference had a record number of participants.

“After completing such an exhausting, difficult year, it’s amazing and humbling to be joined by more than 200 faculty and staff members for this year’s Summer Institute,” said Stephen Biscotte, director of general education and one of the conference’s organizers. “It speaks volumes about their commitment to pedagogy, our students, and our community.”