DIVERSITY
POLICY
Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Meetings & Courses
Program is strongly committed to diversity in the recruitment,
selection, and invitation of participants for all our meetings
and courses. Due consideration is given
by all conference organizers and course faculty to the
inclusion of qualified individuals from groups underrepresented in the sciences, including women and scientists from developing countries, as well as African-, Hispanic-, and Native American scientists from the U.S.
Women in science
Numerous reports have shown that the representation
of women in scientific disciplines decreases in advanced academic ranks, with the highest representation of women at the postdoctoral level and the lowest at the full-professor level (see, e.g., the 2006
National Academies report). Therefore, Cold Spring
Harbor Laboratory's Meetings & Courses' Diversity
Policy aims to increase the percentage of female scientists
who play leadership roles as organizers, instructors, and
invited speakers in all our conferences, courses, and workshops,
irrespective of field. Wherever possible, organizers and
instructors are encouraged to strive for parity in terms
of invitations to session chairs, discussion leaders, and invited speakers.
Scientists from
developing countries
The Laboratory's Meeting and
Courses Program encourages attendance and active participation
by scientists from the developing world. In recognition
of the fact that the associated costs of attendance at
our meetings and courses (i.e., travel, registration/tuition,
housing, and food) are a challenge for scientists from
developing countries, the Laboratory actively seeks partnerships
with funding organizations.
For example, the International
Brain Research Organization through the auspices of
the Society for Neuroscience provides full scholarships for a small number of selected
students from the developing world to attend certain neuroscience
courses at the Laboratory.
U.S. citizens and permanent residents from under-represented
minority groups
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory strongly believes that effective
recruitment and retention of individuals from under-represented
minority groups require a commitment to create an inclusive
environment at all levels of its research and educational
components. The Laboratory has
thus adopted innovative ways of promoting minority representation
in the biological sciences, including:
K-12 educational programs offered by the Dolan
DNA Learning Center
The Partners
for the Future program, which offers local high school students research opportunities at the Laboratory
The summer Undergraduate
Research Program
The Watson
School of Biological Sciences graduate program
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory/Stony Brook shared
graduate program
We feel the efforts of the different programs help engender an atmosphere that is inclusive of diversity. In addition, they serve to provide diverse role models at every educational level, which are important influences in attracting young students to the sciences and in particular, to the Laboratory.
Next-generation scientists
Our
Professor for a Day program aims
to introduce gifted high school students to contemporary
science in a real world setting. The students attend talks and a poster session for a day during one of the many scientific meetings hosted by the Laboratory. In doing so, they see what science involves outside laboratory experiments, in particular how scientists communicate their work and subject it to peer review. The students thus learn
that working at the bench is only one aspect of being a good scientist, and that communication and
discussion are also vital.
The Laboratory welcomes feedback and suggestions on how to further improve our efforts for effectively recruiting individuals from diverse populations and encouraging their participation in our educational programs. Please
email any comments or suggestions to Dr.
David J. Stewart, Executive Director, Meetings &
Courses Program.
