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SCS DEI Update

Mar. 19, 2021

The events we saw take place in our country this week are just the latest in a string of seemingly relentless, horrifying, hateful violence. They’re discouraging, dispiriting and frightening. As President Jahanian said in his message today, it is crucial that as we rise to meet the next days and the challenges they’ll present, that we continue to treat one another with love and empathy. After a full year away from the normal interactions we enjoyed as a school, it’s easy to forget just how special a community SCS is. Reach out to your friends, classmates, students and colleagues. Take a proactive interest in their wellbeing. If you’re feeling confused, sad, angry — anything — talk to someone, whether it’s a close friend, family member or any of the support groups we’ve listed below. And know that we care about you as much as you care about each other.

Upcoming Events / Deadlines

  • CMU’s Asian Students Association and Asian Leadership Union are organizing a faculty panel discussion on “Our Asian Experience” next Friday, March 26, at 8 p.m. It will feature faculty from across CMU’s main campus, including the HCII’s Assistant Professor Lining Yao and Professor Jason Hong. Sign up on the event's registration form. You can also submit a question for the panelists.
  • Apply for a 2021 Tapia Scholarship: The Tapia Conference provides scholarships for students (community college/undergraduate/graduate) and post-docs at colleges/universities in the U.S. and U.S.. territories. Scholarships cover the cost of conference registration. Applications are due Wednesday, March 31. Students must provide a faculty recommendation by Wednesday, April 14.
  • Lavender Graduation is a celebration recognizing graduating undergraduate and graduate students who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community. If you are a graduating student and would like the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion to acknowledge your graduation in memento, complete the Lavender Graduation participation form by Sunday, April 4.

Recruiting Conferences 

  • SCS will partner with CIT for the upcoming National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 47th Annual Convention. There are two parts to our participation:
    • The portion on April 7 provides an opportunity to interact with and recruit middle-school and high school students for our undergraduate programs (tentative time 3 - 6 p.m.)
    • We’ll be recruiting for graduate programs during the annual career fair April 8-9, from noon to 5 p.m.
  • The convention is virtual and Jenn Landefeld will coordinate volunteers to hold office hours via Zoom during both recruiting events. Reach out to her if you are interested in participating. 

Virtual Support Groups

While hate targeted toward those of Asian descent is not new, COVID-19 has brought with it an alarming rise in hate crimes and harassment across the country. Below, the Graduate Student Assembly provides a sample of resources specifically aimed at supporting the Asian community and offering guidance to allies on how to make an impact.

Collaboratory Against Hate: Research and Action Center

Over the past several years, we have witnessed a disturbing rise in attacks rooted in hate and targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation. CMU President Farnam Jahanian and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Pat Gallagher have announced a joint center dedicated to combating extremist hate —  the Collaboratory Against Hate: Research and Action Center. The center will bring together our collective expertise from all relevant disciplines, including computer science, data science, social sciences, psychology, psychiatry and the law. to develop effective interventions to inhibit every stage in the creation and growth of extremist hate groups and to minimize their destructive consequences. 

The collaboratory will be co-led by Lorrie Cranor of CMU’s CyLab and Kathleen Blee, Pitt professor of sociology. The center is calling for interested collaborators with diverse backgrounds and relevant expertise to build out its research team. Those with knowledge and passion for combating extremism and radicalization are invited to contact the center.

From the SCS Ph.D. Student Advisory Committee Anti-Racism Working Group 

Faculty hiring season is in full swing across all departments in SCS. This week, we are writing to encourage broad participation in this process, including attending job talks and giving feedback about candidates to your department's hiring committee. Your voice is important in recruiting a diverse faculty population, which is key to building a culture that recruits and retains a diverse campus population.

CMU recently invited Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How To Be an Antiracist," to speak on advancing antiracism at the university level. In his own words during that talk, “the fundamental measure on whether [a university is] diverse is actually not its student body, it’s the faculty body.” Submit your story about DEI-related challenges on this form.

The committee is maintaining an SCS DEI progress tracker to map progress relative to the Towards Anti-Racist Change letter, where we outline steps toward a more inclusive SCS. To date, four items have been completed, five are on track, 40 have been acknowledged and one has been refused.

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