#WeHBSeeU: Examining the Impact of a National Social Marketing Campaign in STEM on Broadening Participation and STEM Identity Development seeks to explore contemporary strategies to shift social perceptions, STEM identity development, and public discourse about STEM innovation generated by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) which produce 33% of all Black American scientists and 46% of all female Black scientists globally. The project goal is to develop a digital dissemination platform for HBCU STEM innovation that increases the public’s awareness of HBCU STEM research and innovation while researching the impact of the platform’s social marketing campaign on STEM Identity Development and scientific epistemological thinking. The three objectives are to (1) increase the public perception of HBCU research and STEM innovation, (2) explore self-reported perceptions of STEM Identity, and (3) capture scientific epistemological thinking about STEM in the general public. Over the course of three years, #WeHBSeeU will explore strategic social marketing campaigning regarding HBCU STEM Innovation and research by exposing the general public to digital streaming content, community viewings and colloquia, and listener determined podcast topics. By examining the relationship between scientific epistemology and STEM identity with STEM-oriented social marketing that highlights STEM innovation at HBCUs, we anticipate engaging the hundreds of thousands of the general public in discourse around STEM innovations and Science topics.
Disclaimer statement: This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2334587. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed on posted materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.