CMB DEI Task Force

The CMB DEI Task Force is made up mostly of students (~12), with the opportunity to include a few faculty representatives as well. The committee is based on a Rackham Faculty/Student Allies Grant that funds much of its activities. The group is overseen by the CMB DEI Faculty Ally, and facilitated by the two CMB DEI Student Allies. Read here about the Formation of the CMB DEI Task Force.

Current Members Include:

• Faculty DEI Ally: Ben Allen
• Student DEI Allies: Amanda Orosco, Chris Pineda
• Students: Rachel Benedeck, Brandon Chen, Sarah Connolly, Adele Correia, Najia Elkahlah, Carina Elvira, Caroline Hsieh, Wesley Huang, Karena Lin, Shannon McCollum, Rae Powers, Brynne Raines, Josephine Wu

For more information about CMB DEI Task Force events, email [email protected]. 

2023-2024 CMB Task Force Events:

• 8/24/23: Professional Headshots Day
• 10/3/23: Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration Lunch with OGPS
• 10/4/23: Launch of Faculty-Student Chat Mentorship (pairing new PIBS and CMB students with faculty to facilitate networking)
• 10/12/23: Cappuccino Man Event to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
• 10/23/23: DEI Seminar (CMB 850) - Dr. Sam Lewis, Asst. Prof. of Cell Bio, Dev. & Physiology, UC Berkeley (noon in Med Sci I, M3330)
• 11/10/23: Launch of Peer Mentoring Circles/First Social Lunch
• 1/12/24: Cappuccino Man Community-Building Event
• January/February 2024: CMB Mock Prelims for Students Taking Preliminary Exams
• 2/13/24: Black History Month Celebration Lunch (1 pm in OGPS Lounge)
• February/March 2024: CMB Climate Survey
• March 2024: Microaggressions Workshop (Date/Time TBD)
• 4/22/24: DEI Seminar (CMB 850) - Dr. Alex Trillo, Associate Professor of Biology, Gettysburg College (noon in Med Sci I, M3330)
• 5/20/24: Cultural Competencies Workshop (1 pm at Weiser Hall, 10th floor - will be part of CMB Spring Symposium)

2022-2023 CMB Task Force Events:

• 9/30/22 Peer Mentoring Event
• 10/26/22 - 10/29/22: CMB Recruitment at SACNAS conference
• 11/7/22 CMB 850 - DEI Seminar - Kevin Calhoun, Office of Graduate & Postdoc Studies - ""What I had meant to say is': When you say the wrong thing, how to make it right"
• 11/9/22 - 11/12/22: CMB Recruitment at ABRCMS conference
• February - March 2023: Practice Prelim Exams
• 11/30/22, 12/1/22, 12/5: Community Socials
• 2/17/23, 3/17/23, 3/31/23, 4/28/23: Faculty-Student Chats (10 am in OGPS Lounge)
• March/April (TBC): Peer Mentoring
• 4/5/23: Professional Headshots (OGPS Lobby)
• 4/20/23: Movie Night at State Theater - "Till" and Facilitated Discussion
• 4/24/23: Guest DEI Speaker - Dr. Derrick Morton, Univ of Southern California - "Navigating Intersecting Identities: An Unconventional Journey to RNA Science and Neurobiology"
• 4/28/23: DEI Podcast Club 
• 5/1/23: Power & Perspectives Workshop (virtual, facilitated by MESA and Ginsburg Center)

2021-2022 CMB Task Force Events:

• CMB 850 - DEI Speaker - 11/08/21 DEI Talk Dr. Okanlami
• November 2021 - Community Networking Meetings
• Fall 2021 - "Race Talks" Curriculum
• January 2022 - Practice Prelim Exams
• Winter 2022 - Funding for UMYSci Youth Outreach Program
• Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 - Student-Faculty Chats
• June 15, 2022 - CMB Peer Mentoring Event

 APRIL - DEI Month:

• Fri. 4/1/22: Professional Headshots - BSRB Lobby (3-6 pm)
• Mon. 4/4/22: DEI workshop and Introduction to Intercultural Development Inventory - Med Sci I, M3330 (12-1 pm, CMB 850)
• Fri 4/15/22: Therapaws (Therapy Dogs) – OGPS Lounge (3-5 pm)
• Fri 4/22/22: IDI Workshop – Med Sci I (M5330) – 12-1 pm
• Mon 4/25/22: DEI Speaker - Dr. Gustavo Silva, Duke University (Med Sci I, M3330) – 12:00 - 1:15 pm seminar; 1:30 - 2:00 pm discussion/lunch (OGPS Lounge), "Exploring Mechanisms to Cope with Cellular (and Societal) Stress"

 CMB 50th Anniversary (5/19 - 5/21)

• Thurs 5/19/22: CMB Town Hall (Transparency Meeting) (10-11 am, Kensington Hotel/Hybrid)
• Thurs 5/19/22: Student/Faculty “Get to Know You” event (4:30-5:30 pm, Kensington Hotel)

 2020-2021 CMB Task Force Events:

• 9/21/20 - CMB 850 Seminar Speakers: Dr. Jamie Amemiya, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Mortensen "Diversity in Science"
• 11/21/20 - CMB Fall 2020 Retreat Keynote by Dr. Sean Valles, Michigan State Univ. (Jessica Schwartz Lecture) -"The Structural Obstacles to Equitable Health in the U.S., and the Many Types of Expertise It Will Take to Overcome Them"
• Winter 2021 - CMB DEI Climate Survey

 APRIL - DEI MONTH

• 4/2/21: Discussion of DEI Climate Survey
• 4/7/21: Headshot Photos at OGPS & Care Package Pick-Up (CMB swag, DEI books, calendar of April events and more)
• 4/13/21: Mitigating Unconscious Bias Workshop
• TBD: DEI Book Clubs (Participants will be Emailed to Schedule Meetings)
• 4/26/21: CMB 850 Seminar Speaker: Dr. Bil Clemons, Ph.D., Cal Tech - "Who's Paying the Cost of Diversity?"
• 5/10/21 Follow-Up Discussion on Climate Survey: Next Steps