Diversity, Inclusivity, Belonging, and Equity (DIBE) in the Biology Department:
Language developed through student, staff and faculty collaboration
(Dept. Approved: 2/7/22)
See update below
The Biology Department at Southwestern University believes that learning takes place best in an inclusive environment where students, staff, and faculty from diverse backgrounds are seen and heard.
We acknowledge that history is rich with injustices committed by members of the STEM community, including biologists, and these offenses continue to negatively impact recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups.
Members of the biology department understand that change cannot happen without having difficult conversations. We believe that we need to carefully examine uncomfortable truths from the past and present so that we may learn from these events and begin to forge a new path where students of any color, religion, identity, or ability can succeed in biology.
We strive to provide a safe and supportive environment for underrepresented individuals, including, but not limited to, students of color, sexual and gender minorities, low-income students, first-generation students, differently abled students, and those with chronic health conditions.
UPDATE (3/23/23) —- In response to events on campus, the Biology faculty and staff have also adopted the following statement:
The faculty and staff of the Southwestern Biology Department are incensed by recent hateful racist acts on campus. The Black Student Union and the Coalition for Diversity and Social Justice have presented President Trombley with a list of demands in response both to these recent incidents and to long-standing concerns. The Biology Department fully supports these calls for strong, consistent and on-going action by the University to bring to account those responsible for the recent actions, to work proactively to prevent future outrages, and to devote substantial effort and resources to improving the campus climate for all. The Biology Department reaffirms our commitment to be an active agent in building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable community.
We are working towards a more inclusive and equitable environment. What we are already doing:
Discussions with students on how to make the biology dept. more inclusive through promoting a better sense of belonging.
Physical spaces
Gender neutral bathrooms in the science building
Private breast-feeding room for mothers
Wheelchair accessible laboratory
Gaby Garza ’22, Lupe Sanchez ’23, and Christine Vanginault ’23 spread compost on the research plots (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
Spring 2022 TriBeta Induction ceremony led by Bilal Kahn. Each member had a profile slide of their interests and involvement in Biology.Good looking group!
Environmental Science students learning how to take measurements of dbh - tree diameters - to estimate age and growth. (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
Dr. Maria Cuevas and the Spring 2022 Biology of Reproduction class at the end of the semester (Photo credit: Maria Cuevas)
We did get some vertebrates - fish - but tossed them back. More interested in the shrimp and crabs! Yes, even a couple of blue crab. (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
Made it to the end of the search for some marine invertebrates around the coastal area of Rockport, TX (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
Jamal Collins works on separating out soil layers in Environmental Science laboratory (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
Students in Environmental Science out in the field (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
Five women scientists had the opportunity to extend their coursework and research experience outside the classroom with poster presentations at the Texas Conservation Symposium, co-sponsored by Southwestern and The Williamson County Conservation Foundation. The students all had the opportunity to interact with the keynote speaker, Dr. Kelly Rameriz, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas El Paso and co-founder of 500 Women Scientists. Katherine Montgomery, Lauren Wheat, Cynthia Bashara, Dr. Romi Burks, Lillian Dolapchiev, Nicole Ratjak and Dr. Kelly Rameriz (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
Nice to have such a resource as Alex Wild and the invertebrate collection at the University of Texas - Brackenridge field site. We even added a specimen or two. (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
King Creativity Group “Lecture in a Box” with (left to right) Dean Dulthummon, Karen Rativa, Dr. Stacie Brown, Sebastian Somolinos, Alexis Dimanche (Photo credit: Dr. Stacie Brown)
SCOPE 21 students Lillian Dolapchiev and Cynthia Bashara present their research on environmental DNA at the Fall Open House. (Photo credit: Dr. Romi Burks)
Snail lab checking out the view of a wetland in Utah while attending a national scientific meeting. (Photo credit: Dr. Romi Burks)
Areli Gutierrez in the field doing her Capstone research on Georgetown Salamander. (Photo credit: Ben Pierce)
How do geckos climb walls? SU Callie Haworth & Jaxon Banks (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
How can solar power be turned into energy? SU Joyous Ahn & Audrey Damarest
Biology Extends the Sweet Treats Theme to Graduation (Photo credit: Maria Cuevas, Christy Schaller, Romi Burks)
Some of our star biologists (Emma Astad '21, Vanessa Jones '22 and Scout Gockle '22) enjoy the senior lunch (Photo credit: Christy Schaller)
End of semester lab meeting for the Apple Snail Molecular Ecology Lab with Dr. Burks: (left to right): Cassidy Reynolds, Cynthia Bashara, Lillian Dolapchiev, Abby White, Kate Henderson and Esmerelda Barrientos (Photo credit: Dr. Romi Burks)
Poster - Katherine Montgomery ’23: The Blackland Prairies in 2050: Never lost, just too often forgotten (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
SCOPE 21 students Cynthia Bashara and Lillian Dolapchiev sample for apple snail eDNA at a golf course pond in San Antonio (Photo credit: Dr. Romi Burks)
Talking Science (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
The Invertebrate Ecology class took a trip here in early March. We highly recommend the honey. But, Beeweaver known best for their queen bees - and there’s an SU biology alumni connection. (Photo credit: Romi Burks)
Spring 2022 TriBeta Induction ceremony led by Bilal Kahn. Each member had a profile slide of their interests and involvement in Biology. (Photo credit: Cynthia Bashara)
Christine Vanginault ’23 does the lab work with a smile! (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
New partnership between Dr. DeMarco (and her students) and Copper Mountain makes the local news (Photo credit: Dr. Jennie DeMarco)
