DIB Fellow Projects
The fellows help with a range of DIB projects and come up with our own initiatives at SEAS. Below is a quick overview of the stuff we have been working on, with links to pages for more information.
DIB Fellows are part of the various working groups under the DIB Committee. Fellows help to plan the meetings, chart the progress and facilitate the work of the working groups. Visit the DIB Committee page for more information on what the committee and working groups have achieved.
SEAS Research Focus Group for Faculty, Graduate and Undergraduate Students
As part of the current initiative to encourage undergraduate research involvement through programs such as the Rotational Directed Reading Program, we are surveying groups of the SEAS community on their attitudes towards research and mentorship. We plan to administer three surveys—one for undergraduates, one for graduate students, and one for faculty—and follow them up with more specific focus group discussions. In particular, we want to understand more general feelings on research accessibility, in addition to the types of research programs that undergraduates would want to participate in, and the willingness and motivation of graduate students to mentor in such programs.
(Future) Rotational Directed Reading Program
The Rotational Directed Reading Program is a new program at SEAS that pairs interested undergraduate and graduate students for independent study projects. Selected undergraduates will work with graduate students to read a particular book or paper in or adjacent to the graduate student’s area of expertise. Students in the program will rotate through several pairings, giving undergraduates the opportunity to engage several fields and graduate students the chance to mentor several students in topics related to their research.
BRIDGE Week
BRIDGE, an acronym that stands for Building Relationships, Increasing Diversity, and Growing Engineers, is a weeklong celebration of the strides that have been made at both SEAS and in our society at large in making engineering a field where diverse identities and backgrounds are welcomed.
IMMAW: Voices for Diversity in STEM
I'll Make Me a World: Voices for Diversity in STEM is a speaker series devoted to promoting diversity, inclusion, and belonging in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM), and related fields. To this end, we invite remarkable scholars and leaders from relevant disciplines to come and share their experiences with diversity and inclusion in STEM.
The speaker series aims especially to encourage individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to consider an education and a career in STEM, or a related field. We hope to empower and inspire underrepresented minorities — and people of all backgrounds — by inviting speakers who have defended diversity and championed inclusivity in their professional spheres.
Intersections of STEM and Social Justice
The Intersections of STEM and Social Justice Series will explore the relationship between STEM and systemic oppression. SEAS will invite renowned scholars to demonstrate how STEM can be applied to address social injustices, discuss how STEM has historically been used to sustain inequality, and provide research based best practices for improving STEM education for students of marginalized identities.
DIB Fellows build relationships with student organizations at SEAS and with the graduate underrepresented racial minority (URM) community. A fellow also represents SEAS at diversity recruitment conventions. Visit the recruitment page to learn more.
Inclusive Pedagogy Posters
To promote awareness of inclusivity in the classroom, the Fellows produced a poster every two weeks to focus on a pair of specific topics relating to students and teachers as the semester progressed. Each poster also featured a QR code that led to an online document containing additional thoughts and resources on each topic. Posters were printed out and put up on both campuses. Topics were chosen as a pair of thought-provoking and actionable topics, so that everyone can participate based on their desired level of interaction.
Community Read
Every year, a book focusing on an aspect of diversity is selected and the chapters are discussed over a few sessions. In the 2021-2022 academic year, The Diversity Bargain by Natasha Warikoo was chosen and Professor Warikoo was an invited speaker to close off the Community Read sessions.