Diversity and Inclusion Fellows Program

With support from Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the ADVANCE Program, the Diversity and Inclusion Fellows Program brings together faculty, staff, and students who individually and collectively advance their action, research, or teaching objectives while improving inclusivity on campus. This program is a bottom-up initiative, tapping into the creativity and diversity of thought among our campus community to crowdsource ideas that create long-term culture change.

Primary Responsibilities

• Cultivate a network of ambassadors who will advance a culture of inclusive excellence.
• Create an environment where people feel safe, comfortable, and empowered to discuss diversity and inclusion.

Benefits and Outcomes

• Personal and professional growth, with demonstrated commitment and skills, about diversity and inclusion knowledge and practice;
• Recognition as a Fellow;
• Outcomes will be commensurate with Fellows’ engagement and may include increased workplace diversity and inclusion; new collaborations, initiatives, or partnerships; and individual/joint courses or research proposals.

Commitments

The program will run from September 2020 through April 2021. During this time, Fellows are expected to:

• Complete an individual or group action, teaching, or research objective and share with the campus community (dissemination will be facilitated by the office of Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion);
• Attend the Diversity and Inclusion Fellows Program meetings (one kick-off meeting in August 2020, two mid-stream progress meetings in October and February, and a final Poster Expo and Celebration event in April 2021).

Fellow projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Developing recommendations and content for new Institutional training programs;
• Creating and executing a pilot educational program and submitting a new SPAG proposal to expand that pilot;
• Writing a white paper as the basis for an agency proposal, or writing the proposal itself;
• Collating best practices for increasing diversity or enhancing inclusion of a given campus group;
• Creating guidelines for diversity and inclusion training for new students, staff, and faculty (e.g., participating in New Faculty and Staff Orientation);
• Creating a mentoring program for incoming students, faculty, or staff, informing them about issues related to diversity and inclusion, encouraging them to get involved in diversity and inclusion-related activities; and
• Advising on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the classroom and staff meetings. For example, teaching faculty about preferred pronouns, visiting research labs, and leading a peer-to-peer dialogue with the students in the lab about diversity and inclusion-related issues.

Funding

Fellows can request funding to implement their projects (e.g. speaker honorarium, speaker travel, facility charges, supplies and materials, event support, etc.) to be spent according to the rules that dictate allowable uses of state funding.

Questions? Contact Terry Blum (terry.blum@ile.gatech.edu) or Martha Grover (martha.grover@chbe.gatech.edu).

Meet the Fellows

2020 Fellow Bios

2019 Fellow Bios

2018 Fellow Bios

2017 Fellow Bios

Program Activities 

Initial ideas from the fellows include symposia, workshops, improv performances, surveys, mentorship programs, and journaling exercises focusing on the various dimensions and intersectionalities of diversity, including race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, and disability.

2019 Project Spotlights

2018 Project Spotlights

2017 Project Spotlights