A Conversation on Diversity in Stem: Key Terms and Concepts
Dondra Bailey, PhD.
A Diversity in STEM panel discussion was held on Friday, December 8, 2017 in BRB Auditorium. The panel discussion was led by graduate student Hannah Shoenhard. Ms. Shoenhard defined diversity and presented statistics about diversity nationwide and at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine for both graduate and postdoctoral fellows.
This lead to a panel discussion that included Eve Higginbotham, SM, MD, Vice Dean of Inclusion and Diversity, PSOM, Arnaldo J. Diaz, PhD, Assistant Dean of Research Training Programs, and Dondra Bailey, PhD, IRACDA PennPORT Postdoctoral Fellow and also Diversity Committee Co- chair for the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council (BPC). The panel discussed key concepts about implicit bias, microagressions and shared their career paths. After the panel discussion, there was a reception where the panel interacted with members of the audience including Penn faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows to discuss the importance of diversity in STEM, continuing this conversation and follow-up to organize future programming and initiatives. Organizers were from the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA), Graduate-Led Initiatives and Activities (NGGLIA) and Biomedical Graduate Student Association (BGSA).
Photo credit: Alice Dallstream and Felicia Davatolhagh