Department Solidarity Statement

Department Diversity Statement

 

The Department of Entomology and Nematology is committed to a community where people of all identities, cultures, backgrounds and abilities can thrive. We recognize our responsibility to identify and correct institutional biases experienced by students, staff and faculty. The path toward equity in STEM requires persistence and commitment. Our faculty, graduate students and staff, continue to make progress toward a set of overarching goals and action items that include:

  1. Foster an inclusive culture through continued education, training, and department-wide community building events.
  2. Develop clear channels that allow students, faculty, and staff to report discriminatory behavior without fear of retribution.
  3. Promote the diversity of our community by recruiting, supporting, and retaining members from backgrounds underrepresented in entomology and nematology.
  4. Revise our curriculum to promote awareness of the contributions and value of underrepresented and marginalized people and perspectives in entomology and nematology.
  5. Hold ourselves accountable by creating an action plan toward a departmental climate wherein our community feels that diversity is valued.

To ensure that these goals remain at the forefront the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee will be a permanent element of our department.