Aspire Regional Collaboratives: A Flexible Model for Cultivating a Diverse and Inclusive STEM Faculty at Community Colleges
ABSTRACT The Aspire Regional Collaborative (RC) initiative fosters community college and university partnerships that strengthen pathways to STEM faculty positions in community colleges. In this study, we draw from the designing educational innovation for sustained adoption (DEISA) framework to document the progress of the RC initiative. We examine movement across regional collaboratives from “original” to “desired” states across multiple facets, using a mixed‐methods multiple‐case study approach and data from our embedded evaluation team. Our national coalition of RCs also serves as a community of practice working across multiple crucial intersections—organizational change, cross‐institutional partnerships, the professional development of graduate students, and efforts to build a diverse and inclusive STEM faculty. Model adaptation in a region occurs based on the positionalities of RC co‐leads and specific place‐based affordances and constraints. We intend for this manuscript to support stakeholders committed to building a diverse and inclusive STEM faculty, enabling them to adapt the RC model flexibly to their context.
Authors
- Maria Wright (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6782-3237)
- Erica M. Staehling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1533-0841)
- Jungwun Hwang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7348-7900)
- James P. Grover (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2425-6927)
- Jessica L. Gregg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4550-8572)
- Lorenzo DuBois Baber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9601-5834)
- Gianina R. Baker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6921-7441)
- Chandra Turpen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2659-6936)
- Adrienne Linnell
- Gigi Delk
- C. A. Ogilvie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5188-5123)
- Benjamin Flores
- Agniprava Banerjee
- Jana Foxe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5567-7452)
- Laura Watkins
- Karla Velasco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1883-1652)
- Dale Fields (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2557-5644)
- Cassie Barlow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7780-711X)
- Mary Darrow
- Rory Flinn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5556-1506)
- Edward Leach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0699-6453)
- Anneke Lisberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7218-963X)
Institutions
- Florida State University (US)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (US)
- Quinsigamond Community College (US)
- Brightpoint Community College (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- The University of Texas at El Paso (US)
- Iowa State University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (US)
- The University of Texas at Arlington (US)
- Wright State University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Bakersfield College (US)
- Montana State University (US)
- University of Illinois System (US)
- Maricopa Community Colleges - Glendale Community College (US)
- National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (US)
- Glendale Community College (US)
- Los Angeles Pierce College (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- New Directions for Community Colleges
- Published
- 2026-07-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.70061
- Primary Topic
- Service-Learning and Community Engagement
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation