Susan Cheng, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion in the U-M Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received the Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award from the University of Michigan’s Women in Science and Engineering office (WISE). Susan has won for using “her expertise as an ecosystem ecologist to examine the ‘ecosystem’ of STEM, building partnerships that inspire changes in equity and inclusion at the classroom, department, and disciplinary levels.”
The Cinda Sue Davis STEM Equity Leadership Award is given, as part of WISE’s Willie Hobbs Moore Awards series, to “an individual who, while a member of the University of Michigan community, has worked consistently to make STEM an accessible and equitable path for all learners who want to pursue degrees and careers in science.”
The annual Willie Hobbs Moore Awards Ceremony honors faculty, staff, and students who demonstrate excellence promoting equity in science, technology, engineering, and math and is named for Willie Hobbs Moore, the first African American woman at Michigan to earn a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and the first African American woman in the country to earn a PhD in physics.
In response to this recognition, Susan said, “I’m humbled to receive this award in honor of Cinda Sue Davis and the work she did to make our campus a better place for everyone interested in science and engineering. Her leadership reminds me how it takes a community to make long-lasting, meaningful changes for equity in higher education, and I’m excited to keep doing this work with everyone in Mechanical Engineering.”