Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

This statement is one of our core principles at the College of Natural Sciences (CNS), and we recognize that the systemic oppression, abuse, and killing of Black and brown people across the United States means we have a long way to go toward removing the inequality that permeates all levels of our society. For this reason, CNS has committed to increase awareness of white privilege and racism in our institution, and to convert that knowledge to action through guided discussions, trainings, and workshops, so that we may become effective allies.

Our Commitment to Diversity

The College of Natural Sciences (CNS) is committed to increasing, retaining, and supporting the success of faculty and students who have been historically underrepresented in academic science. The college advances this goal through policies, programs, and working groups implemented at a college-wide level and also through individual departments. Focused efforts are made to remove the barriers that prevent full participation of all scientists and scientists-in-training, including women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities.  CNS initiatives to promote equity and inclusion are in support of the University's Diversity Mission, which includes a commitment to inclusion of historically underrepresented groups and belief that a culturally diverse campus is integral to academic excellence.

OUR PRIORITIES INCLUDE ADVANCING:

RESPECT for the contributions of each member of our community and for their essential role in achieving excellence in our mission

AWARENESS of perspectives beyond our own personal experience

OUR VALUES regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion through transparency in expectations and commitment to accountability for all members of our community

COMMUNITY through engagement and interactions

EMPOWERMENT AND A SENSE OF AGENCY through informed and inclusive decision making

INCENTIVIZATION to recognize and reward exemplary commitment and success

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION through application of best practices in recruitment, retention, and advancement of all community members

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS to promote civility and inclusivity in the workplace and in the classroom

LEARNING COMMUNITIES through the sharing of knowledge across units

Letter from CNS Leadership

November 10, 2020

The 2020 election results and associated polling have quantified the divisions in ideology and priorities across our country. We now have a collective opportunity to hear one another and to leverage our diverse perspectives to chart a course for our common good. In his message last week, Chancellor Subbaswamy called on us to do just that by reaffirming our commitment to strive “for a campus environment, and a broader society, that celebrates the differences among us and fosters dignity and respect for all.”

The College of Natural Sciences has consistently taken an active role in realizing that vision. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together in the past three years and inspired by new ideas that continue to move us forward. While the work ahead of us can sometimes feel daunting, it is important to take the time to appreciate that our efforts, contributed by so many people across the college, have already been impactful. Some successes from AY19-20, organized by our self-identified priority areas, are listed below:

RESPECT

• Celebrated graduate students, staff and faculty with awards for outstanding contributions to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in our college

AWARENESS

• Continued reporting of our efforts to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive community in our monthly CNS newsletters
• Continued a distinguished faculty speaker series in collaboration with the College of Engineering to invite highly accomplished scientists and engineers from underrepresented groups to give a research talk open to the public, and a professional development seminar for graduate students and postdocs highlighting lessons learned from their own careers in science 
• Supported the BRiDGE program – a graduate student–led seminar series featuring speakers from underrepresented communities in STEM to present research, share personal perspectives, and provide career advice
• Hosted Besa Vormatu-Dzelumadzekpo, who spoke to students on ‘“The Peace Corps Experience: Living Cross-Culturally at Home and Abroad”

VALUES

• Completed statements of values and expectations for all CNS departments

COMMUNITY

• Hosted State of the College, College-day Picnic, and Budget Town Hall 
• Offered first staff professional development retreat 
• Provided logistical support for meetings of Black faculty and students 
• Organized meetings of faculty of color to provide space for community, conversation and planning
• Hosted and sponsored (with the HHMI Inclusive Excellence program and the Colleges of Engineering and Information and Computer Science) a Black in STEM panel of Black UMass faculty and postdocs, who shared stories of their career paths and advice for succeeding in STEM 

EMPOWERMENT AND A SENSE OF AGENCY

• Facilitated the continuation and growth of approximately 10 mutual mentoring groups for women faculty and faculty of color; these groups include faculty at all ranks, cut across units, and are self-organized
• Supported climate advisory committees, which continued to set goals and report on their progress in addressing both college-level and unit-level priorities
• Organized and held function-based meetings, advisory committees and lunches with the dean to provide opportunities for each group in our community to share their ideas and connect beyond their own units
• Promoted the regular use of annual performance reviews as coaching opportunities to advance both individual professional development and organizational effectiveness
• Organized the Black Faculty Advisory Committee to the Dean
• Held the second STEM Summer Bridge Program for students transferring from local community colleges, providing an opportunity to complete the required Junior Year Writing course and to participate in programming to ease their transition to UMass Amherst

INCENTIVIZATION

• Distributed $10,000 in support of unit-initiated activities to promote diversity, equity and inclusion locally

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

• Provided a diversity, equity, and inclusion charge for CNS search committees in fall 2019, in addition to a campus-wide STRIDE workshop for all search committee members
• Provided PhD availability statistics for gender and race relevant to their research field to CNS faculty search committees 
• Produced and distributed a ‘Tips for Inclusive Teaching’ document for CNS faculty and advisors through the UMass HHMI Inclusive Excellence Initiative  

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

• Organized and facilitated dialogues within two units in the college to advance climate goals

LEARNING COMMUNITIES

• Hosted CNS book groups through the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion
• Facilitated conversations by graduate program on climate issues
• Developed and launched a TA workload survey (in progress)
• Sponsored antiracism training with 250 faculty, staff and students who participated in screening and discussion groups of “White Like Me” 

I thank you for your contributions to these important efforts and for especially for supporting one another during turbulent times.  

The CNS Climate Advisory Committees have begun their work for this academic year and would benefit from broad engagement in the departments, schools and programs. In addition, ongoing initiatives, events and progress towards our goal of advancing the workplace and learning climate can be found on the CNS diversity, equity and inclusion website.

I encourage you to be a part of these discussions and participate in moving ideas forward. Together, we do make a difference.

Sincerely,
 

Tricia R. Serio, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences

Programs Offered by UMass Office of Equity and Inclusion

Taking Action at UMass Amherst to Combat Racism: A Message from Nefertiti Walker, Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Books

• How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
• So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin
• Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Me And White Supremacy, by Layla F. Saad
• The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward
• Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, by Audre Lorde
• Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, by C. Riley Snorton
• A Terrible Thing To Waste: Environmental Racism And Its Assault On The American Mind, by Harriet A. Washington
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo
• They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement, by Wesley Lowery
• Heavy: An American Memoir, by Kiese Laymon
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander
• White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, by Carol Anderson
• The Color Of Law, by Richard Rothstein
• Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children In A Racially Unjust America, by Jennifer Harvey

Movies

• White Like Me, Scott Morris, 2013, 69 minutes
• The Central Park Five, Ken Burns, 2012, 119 minutes
• Whose Streets?, Sabaah Folayan, 2017, 102 minutes
• The Hate U Give, George Tillman Jr, 2018, 133 minutes
• 1965 Debate Between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley, 58 minutes
• Skin Deep, Frances Reid, 1995, 53 minutes
• 13^th, Ava DuVernay, 2016, 100 minutes
• I Am Not Your Negro, 2017, 93 minutes
• Just Mercy, 2019, 137 minutes

Articles

• “Message to White Allies from a Black Anti-Racism Expert: You’re Doing it Wrong”
• “Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay—Chances Are, They’re Not”

Curricula & Syllabi

• “Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus”
• Talking About Race (hosted by The National Museum of African American History & Culture)

TED Talks & Podcasts

• “The difference between being ‘not racist’ and antiracist”—Author and historian Ibram X. Kendi defines antiracism, and advocates for actively rejecting prejudice in our public policies and institutions.
• “Talks to Help You Understand Racism in America”—A curated list of TED Talks including an interview with the founders of #BlackLivesMatter
• The 1619 Project—Multimedia published by The New York Times
• Intersectionality Matters!—Podcast by the African American Policy Forum with host Kimberlé Crenshaw
• Code Switch—Podcast by National Public Radio (NPR) about racism in America