- Tracy Larson
- Mar 10, 2024
- 1 min read
Tracy, Chair of the Community Committee, is partnering with the first-year Biology graduate students to organize the second Annual Biological Sciences Research Symposium.
top of page
Initiatives for Building Inclusive and
Diverse Communities
Our lab is deeply committed to fighting systemic injustice and biases against race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, religion, and experience in our laboratory, department, institution, social community, and community at large.
Science as an institution was founded on structural and institutional racism, inequality, and exploitation, some of which still persists today. We passionately believe that diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and community at large stimulates creativity, innovation, engagement, and success.
We pledge be anti-racist, anti-sexist, and pro-LGBTQ+, and anti-discrimination. We will do so by actively standing up against forms of injustice and intolerance including, but not limited to, statements and acts of overt racism, sexism, and other prejudices; language and action rooted in innate biases; and suggestions of othering, tone-policing, reverse racism or sexism, discursive racism or sexism, and privilege.
We pledge to continue educating our social and workplace communities on the crucial need to acknowledge and understand the difference between ideals or goals for a more just society and the actions that lead to true inclusion and respect for diversity.
We will continue to devote ourselves to identifying and executing structural and institutional solutions that will provide equal access to tools and opportunities for people of all races, genders, religion, and experiences.
We will remain humbly committed to increasing our tolerance for feedback by not being afraid to ask questions or to receive feedback, by evaluating our reactions to feedback, and by accepting the discomfort of giving and receiving "call outs" for the benefit of learning.
To promote equality, equity and justice, we commit to the following initiatives and programs:
Search
- Tracy Larson
- Sep 30, 2023
- 1 min read
To highlight and celebrate the ‘tangled bank’ of activities that make our department the remarkable community it is, Doug Taylor, Chair of Biology, worked with Tracy, Chair of the Community Committee to commission a newsletter that was released in September 2023.
- Tracy Larson
- Aug 27, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 3, 2022
Tracy is chairing the ad-hoc "Community Committee" for the 2022-2023 academic year. The re-envisioned mission of the committee will be "to build community within and across all ranks in the Department of Biology and to facilitate the sharing of our passion for biology and commitment to our community within the Department, University, and broader community".
Based on our past initiative to have representation by graduate students and post-docs on faculty committees, Tracy is working with the Graduate Student and post-doc Association and the Biology Outreach and Inclusion Program to identify grads and post-docs committed and excited to serve as a representative on the Community Committee. Within the month the composition of the committee will be finalized and the agenda for the academic year will be established.
Mission: To build community within and across all ranks in the Department of Biology and to facilitate the sharing of our passion for biology and commitment to our community within the Department, University, and broader community.
Values for community building that we aim to encourage in the department:
working cooperatively as a team
understanding challenges
recognizing leadership and service
understanding everyone plays a role
vision for the future
inspiring the next generation
Major Operational Arms of Committee:
Organization and facilitation of seminars and symposia
Coordination of Annual Report (new program)
Coordination of Monthly Newsletter (new program)
Coordination of the Annual Biology Research Symposium (new program)
Management of the Biology Department Core Values Recognition Program (new program)
Facilitation of resource securement for outreach and DEI events programs and initiatives (including annual budgeting)
Members:
Chair Tracy Larson
Faculty Robert Grainger
Faculty Mandy Gibson
Staff Member (Seminar Coordinator) Tess Matukonis
BOIP Representative Raegan Bostic
Post-Doctoral Fellow Representative Joaquin Nunez
Graduate Student Representative Taylor Nystrom
More information on the programs available in pdf below. Feedback on any of these programs is very welcome!
bottom of page