Diversity and Inclusion Program (DIP)

Meet the DIP Team

Coordinator: Natalia Lopez Barbosa
Deputy Coordinator: Luis Nieves-Rosado
Diversity Champion: F ernando Escobedo
Inclusion Advocates: Lucinda Allen, Ahmed Alsmaeil, Bianca Burns, Fernando Escobedo, Hector Fuster, Annika Huber, Christopher Klaasen, Han-Yuan Liu, Zach Manzer, Karthik Nayani, Luis Nieves-Rosado, Ferra Pinnock, Abhishek Sharma, Abraham Stroock, William Tait, Javon Walker, Breana Yessman

Contact DIP

To contact DIP with a question, comment, or discussion topic, you are welcome to use this contact form or email the DIP Coordinator, Natalia, at nl474@cornell.edu.

Attend a Meeting

Weekly meetings are held on Mondays at 2:00 PM via Zoom. All faculty, staff, and graduate students are welcome to attend any DIP meeting.

Join the DIP Email List

To learn about meeting agendas and receive reminders of upcoming meetings, please email the DIP Coordinator, Natalia, at nl474@cornell.edu.

Community Member Spotlight

Featuring Paxton Thedford of the Wiesner Lab:

"My experience speaks volumes to the kind of inclusive community that exists in CBE and at Cornell."

Paxton, born and raised in Texas, first studied chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He was drawn to research after acing organic chemistry and began working on polymer synthesis. Enjoying the challenges and excitement of research, he began pursuing a Ph.D. Even with the stress of failed experiments, he has found success through his mentors and collaborators to get breakthrough results.

Paxton's goal in the Wiesner Lab is to create block copolymer materials with directed structures. These innovative materials have special electronic, mechanical, and photonics properties.

DIP Initiatives

Scholarship for Fellowship
Researchers are often recognized for published papers, yet the personal and professional challenges and setbacks that they grapple often define the journey to get to the goal of publication. The Scholarship for Fellowship event recognizes and celebrates the personal efforts and successes of our graduate students through posters and videos that pass along advice for overcoming challenges with peers in the CBE community.

Spread the Word Workshop Series
Spread the Word is DIP’s flagship workshop series that aims to boost skills and awareness related to diversity and inclusion. These workshops leverage voices of the Cornell community and experts in the subject matter to unpack complex issues, such as imposter syndrome, and use discussion to build a more informed understanding among attendees.

Ambiance in CBE
Our surroundings impact the way we resonate with a given place. In light of this, we aim to create an environment in which our community as a whole is reflected to instill a sense of belonging by highlighting our diversity through student spotlights and public displays that promote active thinking about inclusion awareness of resources.

DIP Seminar & Slides
The DIP seminar aims to invite speakers from academia to industry to present their broad experience in diversity and inclusion every semester. A group discussion hosted after the seminar allows for in-depth conversation to gain insight on different perspectives and experiences. Before all CBE seminars, DIP displays slides to inspire conversation, promote community-building events, and share important resources related to diversity and inclusion.

CBE Climate Survey
The Diversity Survey annually learns about aspects of the department that limit the successful building of an inclusive community and trust between department member. DIP addresses these concerns by organizing on-going events, workshops and recommending training initiatives.

Inclusion Statement
The CBE Inclusion Statement constructed through the efforts of DIP members and input from across the department publicly communicates our value of diversity and inclusion while outlining goals for nurturing and inclusive learning environment. The CBE Inclusion Statement can be read here: https://www.cheme.cornell.edu/cbe/about/mission.

Community Agreements
Manifested in our diversity and inclusion statement, the CBE community agreement initiative aims to collect behaviors that transform written ideals into living community values and supports us in achieving personal and professional excellence.

Events
DIP continues to seek community-building events during which our community can gather to build camaraderie and understanding across differences. Previous events have included organizing Olin Hall’s first Pride Celebration in June 2019.

Ezra Cornell’s hope of founding an institution where 'any person can find instruction in any study' – was more than just talk. What I didn’t know when I set foot on this campus was that Cornell actually breathed life into those words and had a commitment to maintaining this culture of community and inclusion... But I discovered that on my visit, and I knew that this was the place for me.

— Robert Frederick Smith '85

The College of Engineering is committed to diversity as a critical element in ensuring that our teaching remains connected to real-world problems, our research remains relevant and cutting-edge, and our social composition includes a variety of voices, thoughts, ideas, and opinions. What we are doing to build and sustain the pipeline of outstanding women and underrepresented minority students will impact our world for decades to come.

— Lance R. Collins, Joseph Silbert Dean of the College of Engineering

In the Smith School, we recognize that engineers are people who serve people by solving problems. We strive to create an environment for learning and research in which diverse cohorts of engineers can thrive and can gain skills to navigate both the technical and the human dimensions of our world's engineering challenges.

— Abe Stroock, William C. Hooey Director