Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Department of BioSciences is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels.

Diversity requires a commitment to recruiting and retaining members of diverse groups of people to be active and visible participants in our common enterprises of education and research. It also requires valuing and embracing the differences between people, and celebrating heterogeneity. The dimensions of diversity include, but are not restricted to gender, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, education, age, and disability.

Equity requires a commitment to impartiality and fairness of procedures, processes, and distribution of resources. Equity is not the same as equality in that it also requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within academia and within our society.

Inclusion requires a commitment to creating an environment where diversity can thrive. It requires ensuring that everyone has a voice in decision-making, feels valued and welcomed and that no one feels marginalized in our community.

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee in BioSciences

The BioSciences DEI committee is composed of faculty, staff, and students from our department. Our charge is to serve as a resource for issues of diversity within the department and a liaison between our department and other DEI efforts on campus. To accomplish these goals, we will:

  1. Serve as a primary point of contact for concerns about DEI for members of the department.
  2. Maintain open lines of communication among members of the department to understand the needs of our community.
  3. Implement solutions to promote DEI within our community.

Committee Members (biosciencesdei@rice.edu)

Dr. Tom Miller, Chair, Associate Professor, EEB Jasmine Burgess, Faculty Coordinator
Dr. Amy Dunham, Chair, Associate Professor, EEB Kaylee Trevino, Administrative Specialist, Wiess School of Natural Sciences
Dr. Edward Nikonowicz, Biosciences Department Chair Roy, Kaushik, Postdoctoral Associate, BCB
Dr. Daniel Wagner, Associate Professor, BCB Lucy Rivas, Graduate Student, BCB
Dr. Andrea Rummel, Assistant Professor, EEB Zhang, Xu, Postdoctoral Associate, BCB
Dr. Cassidy Johnson, Assistant Teaching Professor, EEB Eric Wuesthoff, Graduate Student, EEB

Resources

For a comprehensive list of resources, please click here.