Robledo Takes on New Role to Support ASU’s Hispanic Students
January 16, 2018
Dr. Andrea Robledo, formerly the academic advisor for ASU’s David L. Hirschfeld Department of Engineering, has been promoted to be the director of STEM HSI programs at ASU.
In her new role, Robledo works within the Hirschfeld Department of Engineering to manage all the support programs students need to succeed in engineering.
One of her key tasks is to direct activities for a portion of ASU’s $2.75M Culturally Responsive Education En Mechanical Engineering (CREEME) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant provides Angelo State with an opportunity to create institutional change that can significantly impact students’ success. The grant has a three-pronged approach:
- Establish a Mechanical Engineering degree plan that gives students an opportunity to remain at Angelo State and complete a highly-demanded engineering degree.
- Create space for institutional change by providing faculty and staff development opportunities that emphasize culturally responsive pedagogies so that our Angelo State Ramgineers reflect the demographics of Texas and the Concho Valley.
- Develop pathways for community college students to pursue engineering with ease and assurance by strengthening transfer networks between admissions, financial aid, housing and advising.
“In my new role as Director of STEM HSI programs,” Robledo said, “I hope to work alongside our students and faculty to bridge the gaps between their university education and their home communities. We all find strength in the support systems that come from our home communities. Bridging the distance between the classroom and living room will help our students connect who they are with what they want to do as engineers.”
Ultimately, ASU’s goal is student success. By creating an environment that “acknowledges students’ ways of knowing, doing and being,” ASU can affirm students’ identities and their ability to be successful. To do this, the university will provide faculty and staff development and training opportunities in culturally responsive pedagogies.
Faculty will have an opportunity to re-design courses with these tools in place and improve student success in our toughest courses. The goal is to significantly impact the field of engineering by creating space for students of all backgrounds to be successful. In this way ASU will prepare practice-ready engineers for Texas that will drive future change across the nation.
STEM = science, technology, engineering and mathematics
HSI = Hispanic Serving Institution