DEIO Events

Each semester, the DEIO Committee typically hosts 3–4 events across a range of formats. Learn more about some of our ongoing event series as well as past, one-time features. We also collaborate with offices and student groups across campus to identify, support, and publicize events and resources aligned with our goals of advancing an equitable and inclusive working and learning environment.

Ongoing Events

General Interest Meetings

At the start of each semester, the Department of Chemistry Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Outreach (DEIO) Committee invites all members of the department (including undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff) to a general interest meeting. This meeting is for you if you care about…

  • Fostering an inclusive and supportive department culture
  • Promoting strong mentoring relationships
  • Getting involved in science outreach
  • Learning more about the department and people who make it a great place to do science.

At this meeting, we will…

  • Introduce the format, recent progress, and future goals of the DEIO committee
  • Solicit community input
  • Recruit new members and reengage returning members

There is no obligation to participate in follow-up events (although we hope you will want to), so bring a friend, mentee, or lab-mate for an engaging discussion. After attending, if you want to get involved in regular DEIO subcommittee business, please complete the short online survey.

DEI Forums

Forums involve interactive, guided discussions based on articles, films, podcasts, or other media shared in the one to two weeks prior to each forum. DEI forums are open to all in our department community–including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty. Select past events included:

Upward Bound @ UR & Ways to Get Involved (December 13, 2024, noon–1 p.m.)

View Slides (pdf)

The Upward Bound Program at UR (and Upward Bound Math and Science) is designed to help first-generation and/or low-income students enrolled in the Rochester City School District (RCSD). Each year, a theme is chosen as the foundation for student-driven research, instruction, and projects, and we are planning now for a robust Department of Chemistry participation in the July 2025 offering.

This info session will be led by Danielle Daniels, the Assistant Director of Diversity in STEM for the David T. Kearns Center. It will feature context and information about the Upward Bound programs along with plenty of time for questions and discussion. If you are interested and want to know how you and/or your lab can participate as volunteers, this session is for you! We hope to provide helpful information for individuals at all career stages, including new and experienced PIs and graduate and undergraduate students.

Internship Panel (October 9, 2023 and October 29, 2024, 4–5 p.m.)

Partial List of Internship Opportunities (pdf)

This panel discussion focused on demystifying the process of applying for and completing industrial or government internships for graduate and undergraduate students. Four panelists, all current students, share their experiences. Featuring:

  • Jordan Butt: graduate student, Miller Lab, internship at the Naval Research Laboratory
  • Amanda Canfield: graduate student, Paradine Lab, internship at Merck
  • Dasha Rodina: graduate student, Paradine Lab, internship at BASF
  • Cay McNichol: graduate student, Paradine Lab, internship at Seagen
  • Daniel Akuamoah: graduate student, Kennedy Lab, internship at Neurocrine Biosciences
  • Chari Peter: graduate student, Matson Lab, internship at SunDensity
  • Priscilla Peters: undergraduate student, Paradine Lab

Winter SADness: Strategies for Overcoming Seasonal Depression (February 13, 2024, 4–5 p.m.)

This forum, led by Dr. Annabel S. Fu (from URMC, Mental Health, and Wellness), focused on techniques for combatting seasonal depression during the winter season.

Combatting Hate Speech: Cultivating Strategies for an Inclusive Chemistry Community (January 31, 2024, noon–1 p.m.)

View Slides (pdf)

This event focused on building awareness and skills—including respectful and open-minded dialog, self-advocacy, and bystander intervention—that support a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community in which to learn, work, and grow. Dr. Jessica Guzman-Rea (Assistant Dean for Diversity and Director of the Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center) led the workshop segment, which was followed by a moderated panel with the Department Chair (Prof. Kara Bren), DEIO Committee Chair (Prof. Rose Kennedy), Graduate Studies Chair (Prof. Ellen Matson), and Undergraduate Studies Chair (Prof. Alison Frontier) to address questions submitted by department members.

Living with COVID: Navigating the “Post”-Pandemic Era (October 17, 2022, 4–5 p.m.)

View Slides (pdf)

This forum focused on Living with COVID with the goals of understanding lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying strategies for managing ongoing challenges in work, life, learning, and relationships. In preparation, we invited participants to review the following resources:

  • Morin A, Helling BA, Krishnan S, Risner LE, Walker ND, Schwartz NB. Surveying the experience of postdocs in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elife. 2022, 11, e75705. DOI: 7554/eLife.75705
  • Termini, C.M., Traver, D. Impact of COVID-19 on early career scientists: an optimistic guide for the future. BMC Biol2020, 18, 95. DOI: 1186/s12915-020-00821-4
  • Sifri, R. J.; McLoughlin, E. A.; Fors, B. P.; Salehi, S. Differential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Graduate Students and Postdocs in the Chemical Sciences. Chem. Ed.2022, 99, 3461–3470. DOI: 1021/acs.jchemed.2c00412

Time Management: Balancing Work, Life, and Health (September 19, 2022, 4–5 p.m.)

Event Page | View Slides (pdf)

This forum focused on time management with the goals of understanding the importance of effective time management, appreciating why time management is so challenging, and sharing practical tools to help us express our values and spend our time on the things that matter most. In preparation, we invited participants to review the following resources:

For a complete archive of past DEI Forums, please visit Kennedy Research Group's DEI forums page.

Meet the Speaker

Meet the Speaker events with visiting seminar speakers foster discussions about mentorship, career paths, and the challenges, triumphs, and messy realities of being human in STEM. These events are intended to support inclusive professional networks and to increase transparency in the educational and post-grad experience. This ongoing event is open to the Department of Chemistry community (and affiliated departments), including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Light refreshments are provided. Learn more about some of our recent guests including:

Cultural Showcase

Join us as we celebrate the rich cultural diversity in our department through food and stories. Sample a dish and learn about its personal and cultural significance for members of our department. This event is held in the fall during Graduate Student Orientation and again in the spring semester. If you are interested in participating, please email the DEIO Committee Chair at chem-deio@ur.rochester.edu.

One-Time Event Archive

2021 DEIO Days of Action

As the University of Rochester community works to understand and address how educational opportunity and access are shaped by race in the US, community members in the Department of Chemistry have recognized that there is insufficient diversity, equity, and inclusion within our department. In December 2020 the DEIO Committee identified three initial areas in which our department can improve:

  • Understanding and normalizing diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Communication
  • Mentorship

In January 2021 members of the committee convened with members of the Department of Chemistry in open conversation to better understand deficiencies, ways to improve, and metrics to evaluate our success or failure. Sixty-five individuals participated in the two-day event titled “Days of Action”.

#URSTEMrecharge 2021

#URSTEMrecharge emerged after the 2020 call from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for academic scientific communities to #shutdownSTEM on June 10, 2020. Building on the spirit of this important national movement, the University of Rochester held a day of education, self-examination, and self-reflection on Thursday, June 17, 2021. Over 70 participants from across the University came together to support continued discussion, planning, and action within and across individual departments.

2023 DEIO Week of Action

As a follow-up to the 2021 DEIO Days of Action, the department revisited initial goals and progress through a series of events comprising the 2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Outreach Week of Action (DEIO WoA). Multiple sessions, each focused on a separate theme to enable community reflection on what’s working and what’s still needed. Insights were collected a working document that identified concrete short- and long-term goals and benchmarks to guide to DEIO committee priorities for the coming year(s).