While diversity and inclusion in all its forms has always been part of our core values, recent crises sharply exposed the disparities in our society and how continued systemic racism and bias in our country obstruct equal opportunity. We needed to do more to ensure an equitable educational experience for all our engineers and scientists.

So Dean Kemper Lewis and a team of 40 faculty, staff and students across the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), co-led by Letitia Thomas, Assistant Dean for Diversity and Christine Human, Associate Dean for Accreditation and Student Affairs, formed the SEAS Working Group for Action on Racial Equity. 

The working group reviewed all aspects of the school’s current policies and procedures, from faculty and staff recruitment to student support and K-12 outreach, resulting in a comprehensive report and the following action items for change:

The Engineering Design and Innovation (EDI) Scholars Program, funded by an NSF S-STEM grant, provides low-income students the opportunity to be part of a hands-on, community-based cohort of scholars who will learn how to put social justice theory into practice in STEM fields. As EDI scholars, students will solve complex societal problems through engineering and computing projects. 

Students need leadership skills to address society's largest and most challenging problems in the natural and built environments. The SEAS Leadership Development Program provides mentorship and professional development to SEAS BIPOC students who are currently engaged in a research project with a faculty advisor. Students who earn the fellowship also receive a mentoring session with the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, focusing on the development of the student as a researcher, mentor and leader. 

This campus-wide, student-centric program was created to enhance the education of the next generation of scholars and researchers, with a particular emphasis on diversity and inclusion in PhD programs.

The highly selective Women's Empowerment Scholarship aims to increase the percentage of undergraduate women in engineering and computer science programs. Women can apply in their first year and the award is a non-tuition scholarship that can be used for costs such as housing, student fees, or experiential learning opportunities, including study abroad. Funds are awarded annually over four years as long as the recipient remains a full-time student in an engineering or computer science major with a GPA of 3.0 or better.

Our Engineering Justice Across the Curriculum (EJAC) initiative, led by a cross-disciplinary team of faculty in SEAS, connects students from computer science, engineering science, and engineering design to their social settings. EJAC challenges us to understand our social impact, address baked-in biases, and build systems that not only are good but that do good. 

The EJAC Faculty Development Micro-grant offers support and compensation for SEAS faculty to develop and implement curricular choices (lessons, units, or courses) that respond to the need for inclusive pedagogies and train engineers to connect the social impact of their work to the technical aspects. 

The Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Research Micro-grant supports researchers, including staff, postdocs, and graduate students, whose research and scholarship connect with our JEDI values and commitments.

The PRODiG (Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth) program aims to increase the representation of historically underrepresented faculty at SUNY including underrepresented minority faculty in general and women faculty of all races in STEM fields.

The Visiting Future Faculty Program (VITAL) is a four-day program that seeks to contribute to the growth of faculty from traditionally underrepresented populations in the United States, particularly from Indigenous, African American/Black, and Hispanic/Latinx backgrounds. VITAL scholars have the opportunity to present their work, engage with UB faculty and students, meet other scholars in the program, and experience the region’s many offerings.

The Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) provides support and advice to the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in several key areas such as long-term planning and strategy, educational and professional identity, and curriculum. The DAC is also invested in diversity and inclusion and has launched the Diversity and Equity in SEAS Working Group to provide input and advice on how to address disparities in the STEM workforce.

The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) ensures UB's compliance with policies covering discrimination, harassment, accommodations, equal opportunity and child protection.