Pathways for physics student-faculty partnerships for departmental change

Physics students are involved in far more academic spaces than just the classroom, such as research, physics clubs and outreach programs. In these different activities, they have opportunities to both shape what those spaces look like and grow as professionals. Within these activities, students often partner with faculty members to work towards a common goal. In this talk, I will explore the ways in which students and faculty work together within Department Action Teams (DATs) to improve various aspects of their physics department. I will share our grounding theory of relational agency based in cultural historical activity theory. I explore how students take up different pathways to engage in agency with faculty to contribute to decisions that influence the team’s goals. The case studies explored in this work will provide examples for other faculty members and students for how they may work together to improve their own physics departments.