BISC Mission & Diversity Statement

The Department of Biological Sciences is committed to excellence in scientific teaching, research, and service.

Our mission is to foster an academic environment that welcomes all of those who are interested in pursuing science and science education and provides them with the support they need to flourish.

We believe that the best science emerges when individuals with diverse experiences and interests can safely and freely collaborate and interact with each other, and that the best ideas and innovations are fostered when barriers to inclusion are minimized so that all current and future scientists have equal access to the process of generating and disseminating scientific knowledge.

We recognize that barriers to equity and inclusion exist, that they are experienced differently by each individual, and that they are detrimental to our ability to pursue our core mission.

We recognize that it is our collective responsibility to work towards fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our teaching, research, and service activities by identifying and minimizing these barriers.

We recognize that this will involve taking steps to correct historic imbalances and working to minimize the negative effects of structural and personal biases, both implicit and explicit.

Our goal is to increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our department by addressing the issues outlined above. Our Diversity & Inclusion committee is crafting a plan in collaboration with faculty, staff, and students in our department.