Front row: Danae Woodard, Casandra Moxey, Stephanie Parker, Marie-Alda Gilles-Gonzalez, Adeniyi Adebesin, Sneha Ray; Back row: Jennifer Kohler, Sang Lee, Uttam Tambar, Jake Aquilina, Floortje Van De Poll

Diversity Mission Statement

We promote a culture in the Department of Biochemistry at UT Southwestern where diversity, equity, and inclusion are respected. Our Department wishes to foster an atmosphere where science is practiced at the highest level and people from diverse backgrounds excel because they feel that they are welcome and safe, and their ideas are credited and valued. This inclusive environment of respect for people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives will advance the scientific and educational goals of the Department.

Priorities

• Recruitment, mentorship and retention of a diverse faculty, students, postdocs, and staff. We strive to include, at all levels: indigenous Americans, people of color including underrepresented groups and new immigrant populations, first-generation students, people with apparent or non-apparent disabilities, people of various gender, sexual identities, and expressions, people of various religions, and people with more than one of the above identities.
• Furtherance of an affirming and equitable climate for people from those diverse backgrounds.

UTSW Resources Related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

For reporting concerns related to discrimination and racism

For Diversity & Inclusion Educational Resources

For joining an Employee Business Resource Group

For the Institutional Diversity Website with resources

Campus Partners

• Department of Biochemistry 
• Office of Faculty Diversity and Development
• Office of Women’s Careers
• PROVIDES Program
• Graduate School chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS): Twitter and Instagram
• The Association of African-American Scientists (TAAAS): Instagram
• Postdoctoral Association
• Graduate Student Organization (GSO)
• Office of International Affairs
• Organic Chemistry Graduate Program
• Biological Chemistry Graduate Program
• oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
• WISMAC (Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee)
• AWS (Alliance of Women Scientists): Twitter

Academic Articles on Diversity in STEM

What Comes Next? Simple Practices to Improve Diversity in Science
Olugbeminiyi O. Fadeyi, Marie C. Heffern, Shanina Sanders Johnson, and Steven D. Townsend
ACS Central Science 2020, 6, 1231-1240
DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00905

For Black Scientists, the Sorrow Is Also Personal
Kafui Dzirasa
Cell 2020, 182, 263-264
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.028

The Diversity–Innovation Paradox in Science
Bas Hofstra, Vivek V. Kulkarni, Sebastian Munoz-Najar Galvez, Bryan He, Dan Jurafsky,
and Daniel A. McFarland
PNAS 2020, 117, 9284-9291
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915378117

Organic Chemistry: A Call to Action for Diversity and Inclusion
Sarah E. Reisman, Richmond Sarpong, Matthew S. Sigman, and Tehshik P. Yoon
J. Org. Chem. 2020, 85, 16, 10287-10292
DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.0c01607

Equity and Inclusion in the Chemical Sciences Requires Actions not Just Words
Melanie S. Sanford
ACS Cent. Sci. 2020, 6, 7, 1010-1011
DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00784

Organic Chemistry: A Retrosynthetic Approach to a Diverse Field
Laura K. G. Ackerman-Biegasiewicz, Daniela M. Arias-Rotondo, Kyle F. Biegasiewicz, Elizabeth Elacqua, Matthew R. Golder, Laure V. Kayser, Jessica R. Lamb, Christine M. Le, Nathan A. Romero, Sidney M. Wilkerson-Hill, and Dwight A. Williams
ACS Cent. Sci. 2020, 6, 11, 1845-1850
DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c01138