Members of the Jha Lab work within the Department of Integrative Biology and the College of Natural Sciences on a number of activities to enhance inclusivity at the lab, department, college, and university levels.
Shalene Jha serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) Liaison for the College of Natural Sciences and is a member of the CNS DEI committee. Some examples of committee activities include the development of STEM recruiting events (https://cns.utexas.edu/graduate-education/graduate-programs/sure), the creation of CNS DEI excellence awards, and the promotion of gender-inclusive restrooms. Shalene is also a member of the Integrative Biology Diversity and Inclusivity Committee which acts as a sounding board for Integrative Biology students, faculty, and staff.
INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY – DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY MISSION STATEMENT
In the Department of Integrative Biology, we embrace and encourage diversity in many forms and are committed to inclusivity among our community members, including all students, staff, and faculty. We define diversity as people of different backgrounds, races, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, beliefs, religions, socio-economic statuses, and more, and inclusivity as an approach where we respect, welcome, encourage, and engage diverse perspectives. Our strength and success as a department, graduate program, and university, is built on the foundation of a wide range of perspectives and experiences.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the lands of Turtle Island, the ancestral name for what now is called North America. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the Alabama Coushatta, Cado, Carrizo-Comecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Kickapoo, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa and Isleta del Sur Pueblo, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become part of these lands and territories in Texas.
