Westby Receives MSU Excellence in DEI Award
Congratulations to Kathryn “Katie” Westby, mathematics education doctoral student
in PRIME, who has received a 2023-24 MSU Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, EDEIA!
The EDEIA is awarded to individuals or teams who exhibit “exceptional and innovative contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, research, programming, service, community outreach and organizational change.”
Katie writes that her research “pushes education to see potential and capability in disabled students and teachers, who are often segregated, albeit not always physically, into algorithmic mathematics teaching and learning, and not offered the opportunity to see the beauty in math nor to feel agency to use math as a tool to understand and change their world.”
Katie was nominated by one of her co-advisors, Jennifer Green, who is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Statistics and Probability and the Program in Mathematics
Education, and Lisa Keller, Assistant Director and Academic Specialist in the Program
in Mathematics Education. The nominators noted that Katie’s “extensive, sustained
support of graduate and undergraduate students (and others) has helped to advance
radical inclusive excellence at MSU and beyond.” Katie shares her knowledge with others,
“supporting and mentoring them to learn and honor diverse ways of being and knowing
in their research practices.”
Not only is she an innovative researcher, but also a leader in instructional innovation, and an MSU community leader. The nominators added, “Katie Westby is an outstanding mentor, advocate, collaborator, and colleague, passionately striving for radical inclusive excellence in education and prioritizing DEI throughout her research, teaching, and community engagement.”
The MSU Today News Article on the MSU EDEIA recipients states, “In her education, research and teaching, Westby continually advocates for disabled students and teachers. Within the last two years, Westby led the design, implementation and research of a weekly professional development workshop and introductory course that presented the concepts of models of disability and helped to foster a diverse community.”
Katie was also videotaped in advance of receiving this award, and describes, in about two and a half minutes,
some of the mentoring and support work she has directed at MSU.
The ceremony for the EDEIA for individual and team awards occurred on Friday, February 9th. Unfortunately, Katie was presenting her research at a national Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators conference at the same time, so was unable to accept her award in person at the MSU ceremony. Katie will receive a $2,000 cash award.
We are thrilled and excited that Katie Westby is being recognized for her outstanding contributions to DEI at MSU and in the greater education community! Congratulations on a well-deserved honor, Katie!
Photos are from the MSU Today article and MSU Inclusion video.
