Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Establish summer internship program for undergraduates from HBCUs and under-represented groups

First cohort was enrolled last summer; ongoing efforts to procure funding to support/expand the program

Person/Dept Responsible: Jamie Arnold/M&I

Ensure diverse graduate student population

Ongoing commitment to ensure admission invites reflects the diversity of the state of NC

Person/Dept Responsible: Brian Conlon/M&I

Measure the diversity of current postdoctoral fellows  

Census of postdoctoral fellows to be completed in the next year

Person/Dept Responsible: M&I front office

Increase faculty diversity

Faculty search underway with an emphasis on increasing faculty diversity 

Person/Dept Responsible: Craig Cameron/M&I

Continue DEI Committee

The DEI committee meets monthly to address current and emerging issues 

Person/Dept Responsible: Rita Tamayo/M&I

Publish M&I DEI newsletter

The M&I DEI committee publishes a monthly newsletter to increase awareness of different perspectives and experiences

Person/Dept Responsible: Rita Tamayo/M&I

Quarterly Town Halls each focused on a specific DEI-related topic

Continue hosting department-wide conversations about DEI issues

Person/Dept Responsible: Nat Moorman/M&I

M&I Seminar Series will include speakers on how DEI issues impact research

Efforts to further diversify speakers are ongoing; at least one seminar per semester reserved for topics related to DEI issues and research

Person/Dept Responsible: Brian Conlon/M&I

Regular training opportunities for M&I department members

Implicit Bias and Safe Zone training provided to all faculty; ongoing action item is to increase awareness and availability of all department members to current and future training opportunities

Person/Dept Responsible: Nat Moorman/M&I

Develop and implement an outreach plan for NC HBCUs to enhance interaction and recruitment

Increased engagement through summer internship program; new research initiatives are currently being developed with HBCUs to further enhance engagement

Person/Dept Responsible: Jamie Arnold/M&I; Nat Moorman/M&I

Engage under-represented groups in conversations about science and research

A series of community outreach sessions were held with various groups across the state to provide information and answer questions about COVID-19

Person/Dept Responsible: Buddy Weissman/Pathology; Gilbert Faison/UNCH Molecular And Cytogenetics; Nat Moorman/M&I