Fostering a Culture Where Differences Are Valued
The UW School of Medicine Office of Research and Graduate Education (RGE) is committed to assuring that the climate of the biomedical research community is welcoming and respectful of our diverse members.
To accomplish this, we created programs to help us achieve our shared goals of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
These programs focus on transforming our climate to be truly supportive of community members from diverse backgrounds.
You Have UW Allies!
The UW Allies program serves graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in basic science labs at UW. Allies are faculty volunteers who provide trainees with support during conflict with mentors and lab mates, assistance in navigating institutional barriers to success, and connection with institutional and community services. Allies stand in solidarity with trainees, so they don’t have to face challenges alone.
UW Medicine Bias Reporting Tool
UW Medicine is an organization that embraces diversity, advances equity, and fosters inclusion and collaboration. We are a community that expects support and respect at all levels. We realize there are times when individuals at all levels in our system engage in biased behaviors which adversely impact the learning, teaching, working or healing experiences of others.
The Bias Reporting Tool is for sharing incidents of bias including racism, sexism, ableism, discrimination of any form or other behaviors that do not reflect the prioritization of inclusion and equity expected in all areas of our community.
We are committed to responding to these events and continuing to improve our climate. Thank you for taking the time to tell us what happened.
We understand sharing concerns can be difficult and we welcome anonymous reports. If you choose to report anonymously, please know our ability for follow-up will be limited. We encourage you to provide your contact information so we can reach out to you, hear more about what happened, hear how it impacted you, and discuss resources.
Basic Sciences Affinity Groups
Affinity groups are social and professional organizations that amplify and celebrate the experiences of individuals with a common historically excluded identity. These groups provide a social “brave” space for members of an identity group to share resources and experiences, promoting inclusivity while recognizing diversity and providing a support system. Groups for the Basic Sciences are modeled on those available to medical students.
MCB and Immunology DEI Committees collaborated to facilitate the nucleation of these groups in the research community. These groups are fully autonomous and organized and shaped by, and for, the trainees in each group.
2023 Social Climate Survey
The UW School of Medicine faculty Council on Research and Graduate Education (CORGE) conducted a climate survey in Autumn 2019 of the graduate student and postdoctoral training environment at the UW School of Medicine. The survey provided graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with the opportunity to inform the School of Medicine leadership about their experiences with mentorship, resources, discrimination, and harassment while at the UW School of Medicine. In 2023 a second survey was conducted – look for the new survey results to be published shortly.
Graduate Student Equity & Excellence
Founded in 1970, the Office of Graduate Student Equity & Excellence (GSEE) is committed to enhancing equity and social progression to promote the success of graduate students impacted by racism and its intersections at our Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses.
For more than 50 years, GSEE (formerly GO-MAP) has worked with graduate students, staff, faculty, and campus leadership to develop initiatives that strengthen graduate diversity, enhance academic opportunities, and encourage and support research exploring cultural diversity. GSEE aims to cultivate a culturally and ethnically diverse academic and social environment in which all graduate students can learn and thrive while attending the University of Washington.
Meet Andrés Barría
Physiology and Biophysics professor Andrés Barría has been named the first Assistant Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Research and Graduate Education for the School of Medicine. Andrés has worked to push social justice initiatives since he came to the UW in 2005. He was a member of the UW Faculty Council on Race, Equity, and Justice and was a co-chair and founder of the School of Medicine’s Biomedical Research EDIT committees. He also founded P.Bio’s EDI committee.
His work as Assistant Dean will develop and support relationships between the Office of Health Care Equity (OHCE) and biomedical research departments, as well as working on initiatives with impacts to faculty recruitment, training programs, and other collaborative projects across the school.