Associate Director, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Department
 

BSD DEI - Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

About the Department
 

Established more than 10 years ago, the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI) works as an extension of the Dean of the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) & Pritzker School of Medicine, to build a division that affirms an array of different lived life experiences and perspectives to advance innovation and discovery in science. As an academic office, we advocate for and support a culture in which inclusion is appreciated and nurtured as a central priority across the division’s departments and programs. Our work focuses on not just race and ethnicity, but also the ways sexuality, gender, class, religion, and other identities add to our community. We believe that the study of science and the practice of medicine are enhanced when scholars, clinicians, and staff can insert their full perspectives into their work.

Job Summary
 

The Associate Director for DEI in Basic Sciences brings specialized knowledge to delivering programs and services to the BSD community. These diversity initiatives aim to increase innovation and discovery by fostering belonging and broadening pathways into science.

Responsibilities

• Implements institutional strategic priorities to foster an inclusive climate and increase diversity in the University of Chicago Biological Science Division (BSD). 

• Collaborates with the Associate Dean for DEI, Basic Sciences to create a diversity, equity, and inclusion liaison structure within the basic sciences that provides specialized guidance and training to faculty liaisons developing and enacting departmental diversity plans.  

• Develops a culture of reflection and assessment that aims to provide evidence of program effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.  

• Collaborates with the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs on student and trainee recruitment efforts that aim to increase the diversity of PhD students and postdoc scholars. These tasks include co-organizing and participating in basic science recruitment events on and off-campus and engaging national networks, consortia, working groups, and other collaborative entities. 

• Provides active mentorship and culturally responsive support to trainees, such as during the development of student led D&I initiatives, including student-organized recruitment activities and outreach to the community. 

• Creates and formalizes channels to advise and mentor basic science student-led affinity groups to enhance a sense of belonging and foster opportunities to build affirming communities. These groups include the Graduate Recruitment Initiative Team (GRIT) and SACNAS.  

• Works with the graduate and postdoctoral programs, including their faculty leads, to enhance the sense of belonging of all trainees with an emphasis on students and postdocs from underrepresented groups and marginalized identities. 

• Leads inclusive pedagogy efforts across the basic sciences, which includes co-facilitating a quarter-long professional development course for post docs and inclusive mentor and diversity leadership training for faculty.  

• Manages and develops relevant faculty recruitment search efforts in conjunction with basic science leaders.  

• In partnership with the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, plan and implement inclusive professional development programs to help develop underrepresented faculty such as the Warner-Reynolds leadership academy events. 

• In conjunction with the Associate Dean for DEI, Basic Sciences and Assistant Dean for DEI, create programs and opportunities to bring external diverse postdoctoral researchers to campus with the goal of highlighting their research and creating potential applicant pools for faculty searches.  

• Actively seeks out and apply to science-based grant funding opportunities that aimed at increasing diversity of the scientific workforce. These grants aim to increase programming/resources for the basic science community and develop pathways that broaden access to those interested in studying science and/or medicine.  

• Partners with the Associate Dean for DEI, Basic Sciences to create scholarship on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biological sciences. This includes participating in thought leadership at science conventions, authoring academic articles, and creating other innovative channels to use scholarship to promote diversity in science.   

• Liaison with campus DEI groups and offices external to the BSD such as the Provost’s Office and Center for Identity and Inclusion.

• Function as a resource for BSD STEM pipeline programs led by faculty.

• Staffs administrative committees as assigned.