Diversity

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity in Research Education

The Center for Immunology in partnership with The University of Minnesota Office for Equity and Diversity, The Graduate School, the Office for Diversity in Graduate Education and with the Medical School's Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity  shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.  Our goal is to create a welcoming environment for all students, staff and faculty at the University of Minnesota. 

April 2021
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a rise in racist incidents against members of the Asian community; culminating in the shooting in Atlanta. In response, we wanted to offer our support to those dealing with the stress and trauma of current and past events. We hope this letter of support marks the beginning of an end to the culture of silence around discrimination experienced by AAPI members of the CFI. Now is a time when we can renew and reflect on our commitments to create an inclusive work environment and actively engage in work that counteracts bias in the CFI community.
For those who are seeking an outlet to communicate their experiences and/or recommendations, feel free to contact either AIRE or CFI leadership.  Additional university resources to navigate experiences of harassment and discrimination are below.
                            Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA) Office
                            Student Conflict Resolution Center (for students, faculty, and staff)
Warm Regards,
Association of Immunologists for Racial Equity (AIRE, formerly ReJUS) leadership team
Marc Jenkins, CFI Director
Kris Hogquist, CFI Associate Director

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

University of Minnesota (UMN) Center for Immunology (CFI) leaders are responsible for carrying out CFI’s mission to coordinate and promote efforts in basic immunology research, education, and clinical applications at the UMN.

CFI leaders believe that the talents needed for excellence in immunology research, education, and clinical application are distributed equally among people from different racial groups and with different gender and sexual orientations. Therefore, CFI leaders believe that the frequency of people in these groups in the CFI should match the society at large. However, we recognize that the frequency of people in CFI from under-represented racial groups, or who are women, or who have a LGBTQ+ sexual identity currently does not match the society at large. Therefore, these groups are under-represented within the CFI.

CFI leaders believe that a humane, diverse, and inclusive environment will help all members maximize their contributions to immunology research, education, and clinical application. Based on our own 2020 survey data, however, we have also come to realize that CFI members from under-represented racial groups, or who are women, or who have a LGBTQ+ sexual identity feel dismissed, diminished, or ignored while working in CFI more often than people in majority groups.

These beliefs and evidence commit CFI leaders to the following actions:

  • Develop novel strategies to recruit top-notch immunologists from under-represented racial groups and/or who are women for faculty, staff, and trainee positions at the CFI. Progress will be evaluated after a five-year period of intense effort.
  • Support the work of CFI-sponsored Empowering Women in Science (EWIS) and Association of Immunologists for Racial Equity (AIRE, formerly ReJUS) groups.
  • Provide training on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues for all CFI members and require this training for all incoming members. Training will include a video from the CFI Director on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the CFI community.
  • Perform the CFI work climate survey annually to assess progress in the diversity, equity, and inclusion area.
  • Hold CFI members to the Board of Regents Code of Conduct
  • Provide research and career discovery opportunities for science-oriented students who are people of color and/or women.
  • Work to improve the UMN tenure code’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion work.
  • Host educational seminars on race and gender equity in the sciences.
  • Establish a hot line where CFI members can report incidents during which they were dismissed, diminished, or ignored.

To view information regarding the full CFI Climate Survey Data

                  2020 Survey                                                                    2023 Survey                 

 

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UMN and Medical School Resources

For Students and Staff

For Faculty

Twin Cities Resources

National Programs & Resources

UMN Workshops

The Office for Equity and Diversity also offer Workshops that focus on a wide range of equity and diversity issues in higher education. They can also be customized for individual unit needs and concerns.

For more info. access OED's resource guide for a listing of books, articles, videos, websites, and blogs tied to equity and diversity.
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PROJECT IMPLICIT: Project Implicit is a nonprofit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet. Learn more or take a test here >>
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LEARNING FROM THIS MOMENT: UNDERSTANDING PRIVILEGE AND ADVANCING RACIAL EQUITY

View a recording of a special webinar--Learning from this Moment: Understanding Privilege and Advancing Racial Equity--presented by the Staff Advancing Diversity and Inclusion (SADI) Leadership Committee and featuring guest speaker Anne Phibbs, PhD, Founder and President of Strategic Diversity Initiatives.

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Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation (ISRDI) Summer Diversity Fellowship Program

The Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation is recruiting students for ISRDI's Summer Diversity
Fellowship program. The Diversity Fellowship is designed to help recruit diverse undergraduate and graduate
students to work with Minnesota Population Center (MPC) and Life Course Center (LCC) member faculty and
with its demographic data resources. This is an excellent opportunity for both undergraduate and graduate
students, at any point in their career, interested in sharpening skills and exploring interests in quantitative data
analysis, data processing, statistical software packages, etc. More project details and application instructions
are provided here.

Reading and Media Resources

Faculty Fighting Racism >
An online, curated set of books, articles, videos, and podcasts for graduate faculty intended to serve as a first step in understanding what it means to be anti-racist.

EQUITY & DIVERSITY EDUCATION PROGRAM RESOURCES

Articles and Books:
News Articles/blogs

How the biases in the back of your mind affect how you feel about race: All Things Considered (MPR News)

Burned out doctors may be more prone to racial bias: William Wan (Washington Post)

What role should race play in medicine?: Jennifer Tsai (Scientific American)

Academic medicine and Black Lives Matter - time for deep listening: Clyde W. Yancy, MD/MSc

What’s race got to do with it?: A blog by the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians

Changing how race is portrayed in medical education - recommendations from medical students: Edwin Nieblas-Bedolla, Briana Christophers, Naomi T. Nkinsi, Paul D Schumann, Elizabeth Stein

Racial disparities in NIH funding: National Institutes of Health

What Black scientists want: Virginia Gewin

100 ways white people can make life less frustrating for people of color: Kesiena Boom

100 things white people can do for racial justice: Corinne Shutack

How to improve representation in hiring and recruiting processes

Report: The Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota: a collaborative research project between the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota

For movies, videos and webinars: click here
 

Externals Websites 

Anti-racism resources for white people

How to be an anti-racist educator Dena Simmons

Culturally Connected-an online training toolkit to increase culturally responsive care delivery

Project Implicit® Harvard University

Privilege Checklist

 

Funding Opportunities

Have you experienced inappropriate behavior?

Learn about filing a mistreatment, harassment, or abuse report.

Association of Immunologists for Racial Equity (AIRE, formerly ReJUS)

Empowering Women in Science (EWIS)

Staff Advancing Diversity and Inclusion (SADI)

UMN Libraries-Conducting research through an anti-racism lens

Upcoming Training and Discussion Seminars

immunology 2023 Environment survey

2023 Environment Survey

CFI, in collaboration with Empowering Women in Science (EWIS), surveyed our members in December 2020 and October 2023 to evaluate the work environment and diversity within our center. Special thanks to Milagros Silva Morales and Justin Spanier for their efforts on the 2023 survey, and to all who participated.

We repeated many questions to gauge the impact of our improvements since 2020. Attached is a comparison of the survey results. While the data is extensive, I encourage you to focus on slides 3-5, 8, and 9, which highlight our progress in diversity and inclusivity.

However, there is still room for improvement. Variations in perceptions based on gender, race, and sexual orientation persist, and our DEI training efforts need reinvigoration. The survey indicates a strong demand for effective training, so we will collaborate with Dr. Nunez's office to enhance our offerings. We also welcome any additional suggestions for improvement.

See survey here

Report Inappropriate Behavior
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