Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) means everyone has equitable access and opportunity based on the principle that all our students, staff and faculty have a right to an educational experience free from social barriers.
JEDI means redesigning our hiring, admissions, retention and support processes to remove structural as well as individual biases.
JEDI means being transparent in communicating our progress, as well as where we need to improve.
JEDI means truly committing and taking action to create an inclusive and diverse community—one that will enrich engineering education and empower all of us to achieve our goals.
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.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the SUNY LSAMP program seeks to diversify the STEM workforce by significantly increasing the number of students successfully completing degree programs in STEM disciplines. Particular emphasis is placed in support of groups that historically have been underrepresented in STEM such as African-Americans, Alaskan Natives, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Pacific Islanders.
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 SEAS Office of STEM Diversity offers programs that work to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing STEM disciplines at UB through a variety of academic and social enrichment programs. Students have the opportunity to receive mentoring and conduct research in a strong, supportive environment.
In addition to supporting JEDI initiatives, the SEAS JEDI Committee serves as a resource for grant writing activities leading to a host of additional programs, including social justice in engineering, opportunities in graduate education for underrepresented students, and workforce development.
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.
Jason Armstrong
Teaching Associate Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
Joseph Atkinson
Professor, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
Rajan Batta
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Kathryn Doran
Senior Advising Administrator/Senior Academic Advisor, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Kennedy Colon
Undergraduate Student, Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Department
Christopher Connor
Assistant Dean & Chief Enrollment Officer for Graduate Education, Office of Graduate Education
Holly Evert
Director of Enrollment Marketing and Recruitment Communications, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Ashlee Ford Versypt
Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department
Christine Human
Associate Dean, Accreditation and Student Affairs, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Nina Jiangxi Gomez
Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
David Kofke
SUNY Distinguished Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department
Kristen Moore - Committee Chair
Associate Professor, Engineering Education Department
Shannon Phillips
Director of Operations, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Samira Safaripour
PhD Student, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
Matilde Sanchez-Pena
Assistant Professor, Engineering Education Department
Ema Scollo
Graduate Academic Coordinator, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department
Virgina Stever
Administrative Director, Institute for Artificial Intelligence & Data Sciences
Letitia Thomas
Assistant Dean for Diversity, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
David Yearke
Director of Cybersecurity and Data Assurance, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Jee Eun (Jamie) Kang, ISE, Chair; Jenn Winikus, CSE; Jeff Errington, CBE; Atri Rudra, CSE
John Atkinson, CSEE and Craig Snoeyink, MAE (co-chairs): Lauren Kuryloski, DEE; Jenn Zirnheld, EE; Dave Kofke, CBE
Tenure-Track: Ashlee Ford Versypt (Co-Chair), Kristen Moore, DEE; Negar-Elhami-Khorasani, CSEE
Non-Tenure-Track: Christine Human, CSEE, (Co Chair): Kevin Burke, EE; Amy Baird, DEE
Negar Elhami-Khorasani, CSEE & Atri Rudra, CSE (co-chairs): Jill Martiniuk, DEE; Viviana Monje-Galvan, CBE; Rajan Batta, ISE
Jason Armstrong, MAE and Doga Yucalan (co-chairs): Jenn Winikus, CSE: Kevin Burke, EE.