Diversity

The School of Engineering has invested significant effort and resources to improve diversity at all levels and foster an environment of inclusion. This year, the School created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Standing Committee comprised of faculty, students, staff, and alumni. In addition, the School used targeted donor gifts to hire diversity program administrators (DPA) who manage departmentlevel projects related to increasing the representation and inclusion of underrepresented groups. The first DPA is now working with the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, developing programs and gathering data, and the second will focus on the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The School also launched a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Colloquium Series with prominent speakers like Dr. Gilda Barabino and Dr. Karl Reid.

The Center for STEM Diversity (CSD) supported students through its four flagship programs this year: Bridge to Engineering Success at Tufts (BEST), Redefining the Image of Science and Engineering (RISE), STEM Ambassadors, and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP). The BEST program graduated 12 seniors, the majority of whom went on to careers in industry. A generous gift from a donor allowed the CSD to support BEST scholars in taking summer classes, and the program welcomed its twelfth cohort of scholars with an entirely virtual program during the summer of 2021.

Through the STEM Ambassadors program, 17 first-generation college students worked with high school classrooms to deliver virtual presentations on science and engineering topics and to talk to local students about college. Nine new ambassadors joined the program in 2021.

The RISE first-year advising seminar supported 19 new students this year, with training focused on providing resources and tools to optimize their social and emotional well-being and their academic success. The LSAMP program supported 10 students, all of whom partnered with faculty mentors performing research, and four GEM Fellows — who receive support from the CSD as they pursue graduate degrees — graduated this year.

As a BEST scholar, Zharia Akeem is double majoring in computer science and biomedical engineering

Myisha Majumder worked with the Tufts ASCE student chapter to cofound the chapter’s equity team, which champions diversity, equity, and inclusion in the CEE department