Unit Award

The W.K. Kellogg Biological Station’s Culture and Inclusion Committee, CIC, was formed in 2017 to coordinate resources, training and other opportunities for growth in areas related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. The CIC seeks to make diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice central to the station’s culture through research activities, educational programming, outreach efforts, hiring and professional development practices.

The 2022 CIC members include: Nameer Baker, co-chair and academic specialist; Kyle Jaynes, co-chair and graduate student; Andy Fogiel, operations and safety coordinator; Mir Zaman Hussain, postdoctoral research associate; Sarah Roy, Kellogg Biological Station DEI advocate; Elizabeth Schultheis, academic specialist; Christine Sprunger, faculty; and Jamie Smith, academic staff.

The Kellogg Biological Station’s vision is to build a community that enhances its integrative research, education and outreach activities and accelerates ongoing efforts to improve its climate of diversity, equity and inclusion. They are focused on diverse hiring in all units and have been successful at recruiting diverse faculty and undergraduate students. The station has created a new staff position in 2022 dedicated to enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion within its academic and research programs. The unit has launched a targeted strategy for advancing equity at its field station, including the implementation of inclusive hiring and admissions practices as well as working at a variety of programmatic levels to create a culture of inclusion.