COSM Diversity & Inclusion News

The Diversity & Inclusion newsletter is delivered monthly via email during the fall and spring semesters and is always available on the new COSM D&I webpage. Send contributions and suggestions to any of the COSM D&I Ambassadors listed at the bottom of this newsletter and on the webpage.

We are looking for new ideas and contributions to the newsletter team. If you would like to join the team or put together a newsletter, we would greatly appreciate your contributions.

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

– Albert Einstein, Civil Rights Activist

• August 2020 - Why is it important for departments to work on diversity & inclusion?

• September 2020 - Collaboration & Team Management

• October 2020 - Gender & Sexuality

• November 2020 - Race & Ethnicity “(Un)conscious Racism: Black & Asian Experiences Intersect"

• January 2021 - Being a Good Ally in STEM

• February 2021 - Accessibility

• March 2021 - Inclusive Teaching - Part 1

• April 2021 - Confronting Anti-Asian Discrimination

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) at Georgia Southern

Over the last year the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIE) has been garnering interest for ERGs from employees. As of recently, two groups have scheduled meeting times which are posted on OIE’s website. These two groups are focused around International Employees and Young Professionals. Another LGBTQ+ ERG is the works and The Women's Leadership Series ERG just elected its first steering committee. Co-chairs for the group are Stacie McDaniel (staff, Performing Arts Center) and Diana Botnaru (faculty, Health Sciences and Kinesiology).

• Our fall 2021 COSM D&I Collaborative is meeting Fridays, 3:15-4:45 pm: Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 22, Nov. 19. We will alternate between business and training. Reach out to any of the ambassadors if you’re interested in joining us!

• We are excited to let you know that a recently funded grant in our college, HHMI IE3LC, will provide honorariums for DEI seminar speakers or workshops for your department/office, a maximum of $400 per department/office for fall 2021 or spring 2022. For more information on how to access the funds see this document outlining three simple steps. Contacts: Karelle Aiken (kaiken@georgiasouthern.edu) & Tricia Brown (tmbrown@georgiasouthern.edu)

• If you would like to be trained to carry out Peer-Observation of Instruction, indicate your interest here by Aug. 23, 11:59pm. IMPORTANT: Persons who already signed up do not need to sign up again. The training is virtual and will be recorded. Participants can complete activities remotely. Led by Debbie Walker (Faculty Center).
  
  Schedule:
  - Session 1 (Sept. 1, 10-11AM): Overview of Process - 1 hour virtual meeting
  - Session 2 (Sept. 1-14):Practice in Perusall - view videos of teaching and comment - 2 weeks
  - Session 3 (Sept. 15, 10-11AM): Debrief - 1 hour virtual meeting

• The dates for the five 1 hr 15 min. instructional training sessions for the student peer-teachers are below along with zoom links. All sessions will cover the same training materials, we are simply offering multiple dates to ensure that as many students as possible can participate.

• Student training session 1: Wed. Sept. 1st, 3:00-4:15pm

• Student training session 2: Wed. Sept. 15th, 9:00-10:15am

• Student training session 3: Thurs. Oct. 7th, 9:00-10:15am

• Student training session 4: Fri. Oct. 22nd, 1:00-2:15pm

• Student training session 5: Wed. Nov. 3rd, 1:00-2:15pm

STEM Organizations

• Association for Women in Science

• American Association of University Women

• Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers

• STEMconnector Million Women Mentor

• Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers

• SACNAS Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science

• NOBCChE A non-profit professional organization dedicated to assisting black and other minority students and professionals in fully realizing their potential in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits in chemistry, chemical engineering, and allied fields.

• STEM Veterans USA Our mission is to connect veterans in STEM with opportunity.

• Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship for Veterans

University Opportunities:

• Georgia Southern Women in STEM Alliance (contact Sabrina Hessinger)

• Safe Space Training: Information about Safe Space

• List of Scholarships from the Office of Multicultural Affairs

• Center for Teaching Excellence: Workshop Calendar
  

• Georgia Southern Resources for Undergraduate Research
  

• NSF ADVANCE Grant (contact Tan@GeorgiaSouthern.edu)
  

• SEAChange with the AAAS is a program with significant interest at the college & university level (contact SHessinger@GeorgiaSouthern.edu)
  
  

External Opportunities

• Diversity in STEM Opportunities: Pathways to Science
  

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
  

• NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program

• "With Kritik, the AI-driven peer-assessment platform, professors have been able to successfully implement peer-to-peer learning in their courses."
  
  We are hosting a workshop with Professor Mary Armour from York University.
  Topic: Peer Feedback and Peer-to-Peer Learning: How to save time grading and engage students in Natural Science courses
  Date and Time: September 2, 2021, 1-1:45 PM EST (Online)
  For registration and more details, click here.

Brigette, Karelle, and Ryan lead the COSM Diversity & Inclusion webpage & newsletter team. They’d love to hear from you, and you can also contact any of your COSM D&I Ambassadors if you would like to contribute to or comment on the newsletter - or discuss other D&I issues. The webpage also includes information on becoming an ambassador yourself.

COSM Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Leaders

• Arpita Saha - Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Brandon Quillian - Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Karelle Aiken - Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Sabrina Hessinger - Mathematics

Administration

• Amanda Klingel

• Brian Koehler

• Issac Taylor

Biology

• Brigette Brinton

• Geneva DeMars

• Jennifer Brofft-Bailey
  

• Johanne Lewis

• Justin Montemarano

• Marylou Machingura

• Sara Gremillion

• Sue Ellen Dechenne-Peters

Chemistry & Biochemistry

• Arpita Saha

• Brandon Quillian

• Brent Feske
  

• Debanjana Ghosh

• Karelle Aiken

• Ryan Groom

• Shainaz Landge

Geology & Geography

• Amy Potter

• Rob Yarbrough
  

• Kathlyn Smith

Mathematics

• Duc Van Huynh

• Eryn Stehr

• Jim Brawner

• Kyle Bradford

• Sabrina Hessinger

• Stephanie Wiggins

• Tuyin An

Physics & Astronomy

• Hua-Jian Jason Liu