DEI Statement

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

We promote diversity, equality, and inclusion at Vanderbilt Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. We are committed to fostering and building equality in academia and STEMM fields to create an environment where everyone, regardless of background, can thrive and feel accepted. As such, we won’t tolerate discriminatory or racist behavior, biased or hateful speech, or any type of intolerance toward others.

Our goals are to:

• Create and work toward unity and acceptance on a daily basis.
• Reflect on our own biases and prejudices through educational material, acknowledge these preconceived notions, and find solutions to eliminate them.
• Value multiple and varying viewpoints and move past stereotypes and negative labeling.
• Promote leadership attitudes through the advancement of mentoring.
• Accept and seek multiple ways of thinking to better foster individuality, fresh ideas, and daring discoveries.
• Practice cultural competence and cultural humility to people of all backgrounds.
• Give back to minoritized institutions through connections.
• Increase the accessibility for underrepresented individuals to succeed in STEMM pipelines.
• Focus on early exposure and novel means to involve more underrepresented individuals and give them the chance to succeed in academia.
• Ensure that our scholarship, teaching, diversity, mentoring, and service activities are explicitly concerned with understanding and remodeling systems that perpetuate inequity.