One of the key priorities to emerge from the department’s 2021 DEI Days of Action was the need to sustain department-wide discussion of how multifaceted topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion relate to our department, the chemistry field, STEM disciplines, and society. Toward this goal, the DEI-O Committee is sustaining a continuing series of monthly DEI Forums. These forums will involve interactive, guided discussions based on articles, films, podcasts, or other media shared in the 1–2 weeks prior to each forum. These forums are open to all in our department community–including undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, staff, and faculty.
In the spirit of Meliora, we hope that these forums will help to center DEI in our ongoing departmental conversations, growth, and pursuit of excellence. Please contact Rose at c.r.kennedy@rochester.edu. to volunteer to facilitate forums, to suggest future topics, and/or to provide any other feedback, questions, or comments.
The June forum (Wednesday, June 22, 12–1 PM) will focus on Service Animals in the Lab with the goals of:
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- Understanding the roles of service animals in supporting their handlers in an academic environment
- Identifying potential challenges and solutions for supporting safe access for service animals and their handlers in a laboratory setting
- Envisioning proactive strategies to improve accessibility of teaching and research labs in our department
The forum will be held virtually to enable the broadest possible participation. Please register for an individual Zoom link at: https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUodeGorjMpHt3S9x2XQ5qVygS3GA4PzPL9
No preparation is required to participate in this forum, but we invite you to review any of the following resources for additional context:
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- Redden, P. A. Service Dogs and Safety in Academic Laboratories. J. Chem. Educ. 2021, 98, 1, 68–70. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00073
- Notman, N. Let the dog in: how institutions and colleagues can help scientists who require support animals. Nature 2021, 589, 627-629 https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00190-0
- Vaughn, E.; Sofia, M. K. Service Animals In The Lab: Who Decides? Short Wave [podcast], NPR; February 6, 2020 https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/800911230/service-animals-in-the-lab-who-decides [Trigger Warning: Includes discussion of attempted suicide.]