As a part of the Signal’s new Open House series, “What’s the Scoop?”, we are thrilled to spotlight Dr. Aletha Marie Harven, associate professor for the Department of Psychology & Child Development.

Dr. Harven focuses on topics like education psychology, social justice teaching, diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Her focus is on the studying the experiences of those in traditionally underserved communities, such as those in the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. 

During her almost seven years at Stan State she has been involved with multiple campus organizations, such as the Faculty Mentor Program, the Black Student Union, and the Warrior Cross Cultural Center (formerly the Diversity Center). She is currently involved with CIENCIA (the Collaboration for Inclusive and Engaging Curriculum, Instruction and Achievement) through which she has received a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that helps her put on crucial programming. 

Outside of her work with CIENCIA, she was also appointed by President Junn to be a part of PCDI, the President’s Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. 

This academic year coinciding with the recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Dr. Harven has gotten the ball rolling as to what we, as a campus community, can do to make all students, faculty, and administrators feel comfortable, welcome, and valued on our campus. She has been hosting programming, such as her two day training titled “Confronting Anti-Black Racism on College Campuses,” since August and will continue to do so as a part of her “Transformative Conversations” series. 

When asked about the inspiration behind this series, she shared that she saw this as a public service opportunity. “‘Transformative Conversations’ is my passion project,” she shared. “It’s like my baby. I saw the need to continue these conversations after my two day training and went with it.”

This is just a taste of what Dr. Harven does. Interested to learn more? Stay tuned to our socials this week as we countdown to the Signal’s first ever Open House on Monday, March 1 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.You can join in on the conversation via Instagram live.