Alumni Work to Increase Diversity
Cassie Eng (PREP Alum from Dr. Martha Ann Bell's Lab) pushed to create and lead a Diversity & Inclusion Committee working group in the Psych Department at Carnegie Mellon University with the concrete goals of:
- Establishing department presence at conferences tailored towards featuring work by underrepresented minorities (i.e., ABRCMS)
- Compiling a list of recruitment events from universities with historically underrepresented minorities and HBCUs.
- Extending invites to faculty and postdocs of underrepresented minorities to give departmental colloquiums at CMU.
- Integrate and coordinate diverse recruitment efforts across departments.
- Compiling admissions resources and opportunities for applicants from underrepresented minority and disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. application waivers, scholarship/fellowship opportunities both internally and externally).
Sarah Sam (IMSD Alum from Murali Lab) helped create a petition to make CalTech more diverse, inclusive, and accountable for their goals. She also hosted a virtual town hall and was featured in an interview on the Take Two Podcast about the movement. The LA Times even featured their work in an article!