Poster Abstracts

University of Washington

An Array of Programs Aimed at Making STEM Disciplines Inclusive Communities

The University of Washington is committed to promoting respect for the rights and privileges of others, the understanding and appreciation of human difference, and the constructive expression of ideas. As the University’s President, Mark A. Emmert asserts, “An education experience that fails to expose students - majority and minority - to multicultural perspectives or that does not include interaction in a diverse community simply cannot measure up. All students leaving the University have to be able to take their places in the global village. We must continue to build a multicultural academic community because it is an inherent ingredient in an excellent education.”

In the STEM disciplines we have built several successful programs for the recruitment, support, and retention of women and minority students and faculty. Here at the University of Washington we know that we cannot achieve our diversity goals for the student body, without also diversifying our faculty. Here are a few examples of our programs: Our ADVANCE program provides mentoring, networking, and professional development for SEM faculty, including transitional support grants for faculty undergoing significant transitions, such as child-birth; the UW’s DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology) program is helping to make STEM classrooms and laboratories more accessible and engaging learning environments for both students and faculty; the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program is working to create a social climate that is attractive to women of all ethnic backgrounds; and our Minority Science and Engineering Program (MSEP) provides continuous comprehensive student support, beginning with innovative outreach, all the way through to career assistance.

These programs, and others spread across the STEM disciplines are helping to create an academic community that not only supports and honors diversity but also takes full advantage of the many benefits that human difference provides