The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will host the “Latina THRIVE Summit” for college faculty and administrators on May 18-19 on South Padre Island.

This year’s summit at the Courtyard by Marriott South Padre Island will focus on the THRIVE (The Healthy DepaRtment Initiative for InclusiVe Excellence) Partnership. With the support of the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program, THRIVE seeks to remedy gender inequity in academic STEM careers.

Marci McMahon, co-PI of the grant and professor of Literatures and Cultural Studies in the UTRGV College of Liberal Arts, said the summit will be a first of its kind to support Latinas in STEM.

“This will be a historic convening of 60 STEM department chairs, facilitators, Latinas in STEM organizations, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Latina faculty convening to support Latinas in STEM,” she said. “We are excited about the sustainable networks that will be built beyond the summit.”

Local And National Support

The THRIVE Partnership, over the course of the next year, will facilitate a cohort of department chairs and their teams to develop and enact a plan that promotes a psychologically healthy workplace where faculty, especially Latina faculty, thrive. The summit will serve as a place for resource sharing, knowledge production and networking.

The audience will include more than 100 academics and members of professional societies, including STEM facilitators working with the cohort, Latinas in STEM organizations, HSI networks, STEM Latina faculty and some STEM Latina students.

PI of the grant and dean for the UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science, Ala Qubbaj, said the summit seeks to increase representation and support for Latinas in STEM across the nation.

“As a major HSI, through our STEM education efforts, we at UTRGV are not only building a better future for South Texas but also for our state and nation. Increasing the representation of Latinas in STEM is key to strengthening the U.S. workforce and maintaining our prosperity, leadership, and global competitiveness in STEM,” he said. “We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for recognizing our efforts in this area.”