Allen L. Edwards Diversity Speaker Series
Since 2018, the Diversity Steering Committee has funded researchers to come to our university to give colloquia presentations on their research.
Creation of Diversity Science Specialization
The Diversity Steering Committee created a Specialization in Diversity Science, open to all graduate students at the University of Washington. More information here.
Climate and Microaggression Survey
In the past, the Diversity Steering Committee has conducted two department-wide surveys of the department’s climate toward different aspects of diversity. This survey was edited in 2020 and released in January 2021 with the goal of administering the climate survey annually. Going forward, each year we will administer the climate survey, present results to faculty, and work with faculty to create a response plan to address the results of the climate survey.
DEI Syllabus Review
In 2020, the Diversity Steering Committee created a rubric for creating more inclusive and equitable course syllabi. We are now engaging in a large project now to audit syllabi of graduate (and later undergraduate) classes taught in our department. Syllabi are being evaluated and reworked with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion content to improve classroom environments and hold faculty accountable for creating inclusive, and equitable course practices, as well as representative content and material.
Diversity Steering Committee Blog (PsyVersity)
The DSC now has an continuously updating blog site: see here. We use this space to keep track of the most up to date changes in DEI related initiaitives, as well as structural changes to the department administration (that relate to DEI and students). For transparency the blog also updates meeting memos from general meetings.
DSC Office Hours
The Diversity Steering Committee holds office hours in order to provide faculty support in their endeavors to make their syllabi more inclusive.
Improving Materials for URM prospective students
We are compiling resources to support URM students in applying to graduate school (e.g., summaries of graduate student manuals, information on graduate admissions). We plan to add these resources to our website.
Creation of a URM recruitment event (work in progress)
We are in the process of developing an annual virtual URM recruitment event to encourage these students to apply to the University of Washington and demystify the graduate application process in general.
Faculty Job Candidate Interviews
The Diversity Steering Committee interviews candidates for faculty positions in order to ascertain candidates commitment to diversity and how they would contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the department. This information is considered when making hiring decisions.
DSC RA
In 2020, the department began setting aside funds for diversity-related work performed by graduate students through the Diversity Steering Committee. Multiple graduate students can now be funded for hourly work as a DSC RA.