Keep Doing the Work: Building a More Transfer Receptive Culture through Program Turmoil

How do we make physics and STEM a place where students thrive instead of simply survive? For the past decade I have been a part of a team of researchers who has been interrogating this question from multiple angles. We have explored how to better design introductory physics courses for students who are fearful (e.g. Sawtelle & Turpen, 2016), how to develop curricula that center students’ identities as part of learning physics (e.g. Nair & Sawtelle, 2019), and most recently how to support two-year college (also known as community or technical college) through transfer to bachelor’s degree programs (e.g. Wood & Sawtelle, 2022, Cosby et al., 2025). Throughout all of that work we have continually put relationships and partnerships at the center of our research program.

In this presentation I will share an overview of this work, and how relationships have played a central role in pushing our research forward, particularly in the presence of program turmoil. Executive orders in early 2025 banned any work advancing issues of diversity, equity, or inclusion. As a result of these Executive Orders, institutions that have historically supported research investigating inclusive teaching and supporting diverse groups to succeed in STEM majors have been canceling and terminating existing grant projects. At Michigan State University, I have had two such projects terminated in the Spring of 2025. These projects were both in the middle of 5 year timelines and our teams were actively working toward building a transfer-receptive culture in STEM at bachelor’s-degree granting institutions. In this presentation I will share what I learned about resisting cancellations and continuing the work despite funding cancellations. I will share lessons learned about creating a more transfer receptive culture as well as continuing to center relationships and partnerships through funding turmoil.