Dear College of Engineering Colleagues:
As I reflect on the academic year, I’m grateful for all we have accomplished together. This past year we have evaluated, implemented and normalized big changes.
Here are a few highlights:
- Launched a new bias and incident reporting platform
- Hosted 26 community conversations and workshops for teams across the college and the UW
- Launched a new online microaggression training for staff and faculty
- Hosted the newly rebranded WE Rise Conference for over 200 students
- Built a collaborative process for recruiting and supporting students under Pathways to Inclusive Excellence
- Hired a staff person to lead the launch of a faculty fellowship program
- Implemented a hiring dashboard for faculty – with a web reporting dashboard coming in the Fall!
As we plan for the upcoming year, an area of work I’m most excited about is the expansion of DEI officers.
In 2022, Corey Clay joined us as the first DEI officer at the College of Engineering. In this role, Corey works with the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and is also a member of the Office of Inclusive Excellence team. Corey has deepened connections with ME students by facilitating community conversations within the department.
This was our first time having a DEI officer in the College, which means there is room for learning and improvement as we look ahead to growing the team. We will be soliciting feedback as we expand our work and hire additional DEI officers this next academic year.
Building a welcoming and inclusive community is truly a team sport. Thank you for your partnership as we build a vision for a more inclusive and welcoming engineering community.
Sincerely,
Karen Thomas-Brown
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
