Associate Teaching Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Faculty Director, Physical Science Cohort Program

Office: Urey Hall 2226
Phone: 858-534-3577
Email: dstallings@ucsd.edu

2004

Future Faculty Fellowship

Often times, the challenges of equity, diversity, and inclusion are presented as moral and ethical dilemmas. In actuality, obtaining these ideals is a matter of excellence, merit, and global competitiveness. The grand challenge within the scientific community is simple, yet complex. How do institutions prepare their organizations for the coming demographic change while maintaining excellence and collegiality in the near future? My scholarship focuses on Science Policy with respect to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I work with groups, individuals, and institutions to prepare their organizations to better manage our nation's demographic changes while enhancing their respective scholarship excellence and collegiality. These efforts include; (i) generating peer-reviewed science-based policy and procedure solutions —that place institutions and individuals in better positions to meet this grand challenge; and (ii) the evaluation of a STEM program’s ability to become sustainable while effectively managing its equity, diversity, and inclusion profile.

Project #1: My current efforts include working to increase the success of underrepresented chemistry and biochemistry majors by assessing the commonalties for success and the barriers to retention among past students. Understanding these commonalties will help guide both my and the department's efforts to proactively provide support for students whose variables indicate they may have difficulties matriculating through the program.

Project #2: The professional climate within departments have a significant affect on the inclusivity and equity experienced by the community —i.e. faculty, staff, PhDs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. My work with OXIDE demonstrated the beneficial effects produced when chemist & social scientist collaborate to produce department specific policies to reduce equity and diversity barriers. My current efforts include a STEM—Social Science collaboration composed of UCSD faculty representatives. The aim of this collaboration is to produce policies and procedures that will affect positive change with respect to the climates within participating STEM departments.

Project # 3: The sustainability of STEM programs is dependent upon their respective abilities to qualitatively and quantitatively assess both their organizational goals and professional climate. My current work entails acting as an external evaluator to STEM programs. In this role I develop program specific instruments which include designing measures, evaluating outcomes, identifying achievement gaps, & collaborating with the program to generate evidence-based policies/procedures aimed at meeting/exceeding the programs organizational goals.

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