Page 4 - CEMS Winter 2022 Newsletter

DEI UPDATE
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Updates from the CEMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group and Students Organizing Against Racism (SOAR).
CEMS Faculty & Staff Workshops
In Fall 2021, CEMS faculty members participated in a workshop presented by the Office for Equity and Diversity on “Implicit Bias in Search and Selection Processes.” In addition, faculty and staff learned about “Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct” in a workshop offered by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
Recruitment and Retention Team: Graduate Student Mentor Program
SOAR’s Recruitment and Retention team started a Graduate Student Mentor Program which pairs upper level graduate students with first-year and second-year students to build camaraderie, share knowledge between graduate student cohorts and provide a support network for students in their initial years in the program. In 2020 and 2021, 79 pairs of students were matched.
Department Climate Survey and Listening Session
The Climate Committee of the DEI Working Group administered this annual department survey and is working with the Office of Measurement Services (OMS) for professional analysis of the results. In the future, OMS would administer the survey, thereby ensuring
an independent, sustainable feedback mechanism for everyone in the department.
Bias Response and Referral Network Workshop
In Fall 2021, GradSWE (Society of Women Engineers)
and the CEMS DEI Working Group co-hosted a workshop conducted by the Office for Equity and Diversity on the University’s Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN). Participants learned about services available to them when encountering or witnessing an incident of bias, including microaggressions, harassment and intimidation. Participants also had an informative discussion about Title IX and responsibilities of graduate assistants and student mentors regarding that policy.
Advisor Selection Guide
The DEI Working Group developed an Advisor Selection Guide for first-year graduate students after resource
Some of the 27 total SOAR members (pictured, from left): top row: Gabriela Diaz Gorbea and Amber Walton; middle row: Jonathan Nguyen, Moujhuri Sau, Grace Kresge; front row: Maya Ramamurthy, Abby Harthorn, Ela Engen. Photo credit: Rebecca Slater, By Rebecca Studios.
sharing with the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The guide provides details on the advisor selection process and includes a range of professor-, student-, and self-focused questions to help lead discussions with prospective labs and aid in establishing a successful student/advisor relationship. The guide was distributed in Fall 2021 and will be continually refined and expanded based on student and advisor feedback.
Inclusive Teaching
In August 2021, the Inclusive Teaching Committee of the DEI Working Group organized and led a faculty workshop on inclusive teaching methods. Kris Gorman from the Center for Educational Innovation presented on the topic. CEMS faculty members participated in small group discussions to share examples of their own inclusive teaching practices and a “teaching store” tool with inclusive teaching methods and samples of how those methods have been implemented in the department.
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