Alec D. Gallimore, Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan, believes engineers should approach their work through a lens of equity if they are to create lasting and meaningful solutions. We spoke to Dean Gallimore to learn more about the concept of equity-centered engineering and its potential impact on the state of Michigan.

What is equity-centered engineering?

Equity-centered engineering is a people-first mindset that engineers must consciously adopt to make a meaningful impact through their work. In doing so, they will learn to become aware of and correct the ways their work may unwittingly impact the distribution of wealth, power and privilege in society.

Once acknowledged, engineers must approach their work with an intent to close – rather than unintentionally expand – these societal gaps, and ensure equitable access to opportunity.

It requires engineers to adopt their own version of the Hippocratic Oath: Do No Harm.

Why is it necessary for engineers to approach their work with this mindset?

Everything around us is engineered, and therefore we are all users of engineering. And yet the field of engineering currently represents very small swathes of society. The shortage of historically excluded groups, including women and minorities, affects both the culture within engineering and what we create.

A 2019 report from the Georgetown Center for the Education and the Workforce revealed 81 percent of prime-age engineering workers in the US were either white or Asian, and 84 percent were men. If we truly want engineering to help all of humanity, it must reflect the diversity of humanity.

And unfortunately, too often engineers don’t think about the environment in which their product or solution will ultimately exist. In this way, they can unwittingly cause harm to some, even while improving the lives of others.

Black Bottom, a once thriving Black Detroit neighborhood, is an example of the damage that can be done. The area was demolished in the 1960s for redevelopment of Lafayette Park and Interstate 375. It’s one of countless instances where highway systems have cut through communities of color and disproportionately displaced residents.

To prevent this unintended harm, we must instill our engineers with an appreciation of equity and their role in achieving it.

But what about technical expertise? Isn’t this also important?

Let me start by saying this – technical excellence is the hallmark of any engineering education.

But as humans, we have conscious and unconscious biases, and for engineers, sometimes those biases can be transferred into our technology and systems. To serve the needs of all people, deep technical training must be married with studies such as ethics, social science, the humanities, history and matters associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. That’s why we’re committed to leveraging our university’s full ecosystem of world-class scholars.

At Michigan Engineering, we are reimagining and reshaping what engineers can be. We are incorporating an equity-based learning framework—working with experts across the university to develop it—and experiential learning objectives into our curriculum to help students develop empathy, ethics and cultural awareness. We also expect our faculty and staff to continue their own education on DEI issues—and we work hard to recruit the best talent from around the world to ensure our community is ripe with global worldviews.

As an institution, we believe that we can both equip our students with unmatched technical training and educate them on how to overcome personal biases to create solutions that elevate all people.

How is equity-centered engineering taught inside of the classroom?

It starts with recognizing immediately that equity is a critical concept point for engineers to understand.

At Michigan Engineering, we’ve made it intentional to educate all members of the college community on DEI starting with a focus on race, ethnicity and bias. Our journey began with incorporating an equity-based framework developed by the Center for Socially Engaged Design, into our undergraduate curriculum.

We also developed an experiential learning framework for students to ensure they are developing core competencies such as leadership, empathy and culture awareness. Whether it’s designing equitable solutions for local communities or working with diverse teams, our engineers are learning necessary human skills, not just technical prowess.

And since our faculty are molding the minds of future engineers, we expect them to engage in at least one substantive anti-racism or broader DEI educational professional development activity every year, with expanded training underway focused on racial equity, inclusive teaching and broader DEI issues.

We still have progress to make in this area, but it’s part of our ongoing commitment to empower our engineers to change the world.

What impact can this have on the state of Michigan?

We anticipate that the impact for Michigan will be profound, as equity-centered engineering puts us on the path to providing more equitable living conditions for communities statewide. We’re beginning to demonstrate the potential impact that equity-centered engineering can have on our state now, and we are proud to be a part of that change.

The Urban Collaboratory brings together expertise across academic disciplines such as civil engineering, education and transportation to partner with communities to solve environmental and infrastructure challenges in Michigan and beyond. In Benton Harbor, U-M experts are working with officials to facilitate on-demand mobility services for residents to access essential services. Another Urban Collaboratory team deployed an innovative network of sensors in Ox Creek to improve water quality. In total, the Urban Collaboratory has worked with city stakeholders on more than 20 projects in Michigan to prioritize access to fundamental human needs.

The Center for Digital Curricula combines expertise in computer science, information and education to provide dozens of disadvantaged schools in Michigan with free digital learning tools to complete their work and collaborate with peers and teachers while learning remotely. In addition to glowing reviews from teachers and students alike, these learning tools helped schools improve their test scores even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Finally, the University’s Ford Robotics Building, opened in spring 2021, will serve as a national centerpiece in robotics research, education and collaboration. The 134,000 square-foot facility will provide students, faculty and external partners, like Ford Motor Co., with the space for education, experimentation and testing to build machines that better our society.

Engineering will always make the world a better place, but to make sure we serve everyone, we must view engineering excellence through equity-centered values and global worldviews.