DEI Collaborative

The goal of the DEI Collaborative is to work together to make a more diverse and inclusive community within BE. The work of the Collaborative is to:

  1. Optimize the holistic BE experience
  2. Acknowledge and take active steps to close the gaps in diversity and representation
  3. Engage in ongoing conversations and exchange ideas for sustaining diversity, equity, and inclusion
  4. Foster a community built on mutual respect and shared core values. 

The DEI Collaborative is set of focused working groups consisting of members of the BE community. The Collaborative reports to Department Head Angela Belcher and Associate Department Head Scott Manalis and is managed by Dr. Prerna Bhargava. The co-chairs of each of the three working groups are tasked with ensuring collaboration and communication between the working groups and the School of Engineering and Institute. The members of the working groups represent all the stakeholder groups in the department: faculty, lecturers, administrative staff, research staff, support staff, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Membership information for each of the working groups can be found here.

Inclusive Community and Professional Development - The goal of this working group is to work towards creating an inclusive community within and across stakeholder groups, providing professional development and community building support across and between stakeholder groups. This working group will be tasked with ensuring that events and materials are shared with community members. They will also work to host events and create resources to welcome and support all community members. Efforts will also focus on improving the professional development opportunities available to students, staff, and faculty. 

Enhancing the Educational Experience - The goal of this working group is to think about the educational experience for all members of the community. This working group will be tasked with thinking about the trainings, seminar series, and discussions between and amongst stakeholder groups within the department. Part of the focus will be to think about how to add more discussions about the nuance of Biological Engineering through ethics and diversity case studies in BE core subjects.

Outreach, Engagement, and Recruitment - The goal of this working group is to think about and build programs to recruit future graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and faculty members from a more diverse range of backgrounds. This working group will also focus efforts on advising and mentoring, better supporting students that join BE as they think about next steps in their future careers.