Overview
Our department believes that all individuals interested in pursuing education, research, and/or teaching in the chemical sciences should have an equal opportunity to do so in a welcoming and supportive environment.
We recognize and affirm that recruiting, retaining, and supporting students, postdocs, staff, and faculty with varied identities and lived experiences is crucial to establishing a classroom culture where all students feel valued and vibrant research teams equipped to tackle cutting-edge challenges through creative and innovative approaches. We commit to building and actively sustaining an environment where people from all backgrounds can excel.
Mission Statement
With the aforementioned goals in mind, the mission of CHEMeliora is to bring undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty together to:
- Identify areas where our department needs to improve with respect to enrichment and engagement with departmental stakeholders
- Define specific goals for improving in these areas
- Develop and execute action plans to achieve these goals
- Evaluate progress toward these goals at regular intervals
Committee Structure
CHEMeliora is comprised of multiple subcommittees, each focused on addressing key priorities identified from department-stakeholder input. Current subcommittees include:
- Group Ambassadors – facilitating regular communication between the committee and individual research groups to share information about upcoming events/initiatives and seek regular feedback on community needs
- Cross-Organizational Programming – collect and broadcast information from student organizations with aligned missions; coordinate with the David T. Kearns Center and the department faculty to offer organize a cohesive Chemistry curriculum for the Upward Bound program; coordinate joint events with other departments
- Alumni Connections – collaborate with advancement to develop a list of department alumni; coordinate with the Meliora collective to improve mentor-mentee pairings in chemistry; coordinate with ISO, the Green Center, & GEPA to develop a handbook or quick-guide for graduate students planning their next career steps; organize annual chemistry-focused alumni career panels over zoom.
- Forums and Workshops – organize 1–2 informal, student-centered events (one focused on professional development, one focused on the societal context of chemistry research) each semester. Learn more about event formats on the events page.
- Special Seminars – organize “Meet the Speaker” events (distributed across subdiscipline, career stage, and time of year) each academic year; organize a special seminar each academic year to focus on broadening perspectives in chemistry. Learn more about event formats on the events page.
Get Involved
CHEMeliora is the Enrichment & Engagement Committee for the Department of Chemistry and is comprised of enthusiastic faculty, staff, and student volunteers. We are always enthusiastic to welcome new members. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please email the CHEMELIORA Committee Chair at CHEM-CHEMELIORA@ur.rochester.edu and/or complete this short survey.