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Coalition for Diversifying Science

Collaborating to recruit, retain, and invest in our students and faculty

Niesha holds up a slide while seated at lab bench wearing lab coat, gloves, and mask.
Photo by Melissa Vergara for Virginia Tech.

our mission

The Coalition for Diversifying Science is a collaboration between college and university inclusion and diversity initiatives. Through partnership we work to coordinate a comprehensive program that advances the College of Science’s efforts to recruit, retain, and invest in students from populations who have been historically marginalized, under-served, and under-represented in science.

Goals & Objectives

  • to increase the diversity of undergraduate students who apply to, enroll, and graduate from the College of Science;
  • to recruit and prepare a diverse population of undergraduate students for graduate degree programs and for scientific careers,
  • to increase the awareness of the scientific disciplines, and possible career paths, to a diverse population of students;
  • to provide academic support and community building activities.

Initiatives

Undergraduate Students

We want the College of Science to be a place where students can explore their cultural identity and science identity all at once. Our undergraduate initiatives focus on the intersection of those identities, providing students academic support, community building, and career readiness. Join our Inclusion & Diversity newsletter for most up to date information.

Our Inclusion & Diversity team hosts workshops to support students’ classroom learning. We partner with offices on campus to help you find undergraduate research, craft the perfect resume, and get hired over the summer!

 It can be difficult to make connections during class, so the College of Science hosts Community Nights for students across campus. We partner with the Cultural & Community Centers, the Women’s Center, First Generation Student Support and more to provide a range of spaces for students to connect.

We know the transition into college can be challenging and we want to provide students with the support they need. Incoming freshmen from underrepresented and underserved communities can sign up to have a mentor in their first fall semester. They will meet with their peer mentor, an upperclassman with a similar academic and cultural background, once a week for the first 13 weeks of the semester. Incoming freshmen should check their VT email for more information the summer before they arrive on campus.

In partnership with the College of Science Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee, we host an Undergraduate Research Mixer once a semester. At this mixer, faculty and graduate students present their research to undergraduates to recruit students for their labs. Finding undergraduate research can be daunting, so our mixer breaks down barriers between faculty and students and facilitates the research process.

The Student Opportunity & Achievement Resources (SOAR) Program provides holistic support to underrepresented minority students through one on one coaching and collaboration with academic units. We are supporting SOAR in their goal of reaching each and every underrepresented minority student in the College of Science. Meet our SOAR Coach (a College of Science alumnus himself), Seth Sterlin.

Virginia Tech was selected in 2023 to join cohort four of the First Scholars Network in the third phase of a four-phase model. The network is the nation’s leading higher education community of practice for sharing data, modeling innovations, and scaling impact to first-generation student support. The College of Science is an active participant in Virginia Tech's First Scholars Leadership Team, working to make science accessible everyone, no matter their family's background.

Graduate Students

The College of Science has invested $40,000 a year in our Dean's Graduate Awards for Excellence (DGAE). These awards will provide up to $4,000 during a student’s first 3 years of graduate study to support student research for diverse graduate students being offered graduate admission. Funds may be used to cover expenses such as conference travel, summer stipend, equipment, books, etc. This initiative seeks to enhance the success of students from these populations, thereby bolstering diversity from underrepresented or underserved groups within a specific field or discipline, and with a focus on drawing students from within the United States. Since this program was launched in 2018, we have made 49 offers with 21 acceptances.

Faculty Engagement

In Fall 2020 the College of Science launched their Inclusion and Diversity Fellowship program. This fellowship supports faculty or staff in the College of Science who are interested in planning, implementing, coordinating, and/or assessing the College's efforts to advance inclusivity for, and diversity of, college stakeholders: students, faculty, and staff.

Requests for proposals typically go out in mid-September, with applications due mid-October. These fellowships are awarded for calendar years and come with a $4,000 award. 

Recent awardees

2024

Ivan Hernandez (Psychology) - Developed a candidate ranking tool to be used during candidate searches to ensure that searches are equitable, inclusive, and fair to all candidates.

Edna Fanny Jasso-Hernandez, Veronica Montes, Jessica Schmale (Mathematics and El Centro) - Create the Math Studio Experience at El Centro to foster a community of transfer students working together to enhance their mathematical knowledge.

2023

Vanessa Diaz (Psychology) - Expanded her in “Girls Launch” program, in which women graduate students communicate with children in regional Kindergartens, elementary and middle schools about science.

Ignacio Moore (Biological Sciences) - Started a ‘freshman/transfer seminars’ to help provide incoming/transfer students the opportunity to interact with faculty members in a low-stake environment. 

2022

Kendra Sewall (Biological Sciences) - Developed a workshop on the “Hidden Curriculum” for graduate students. 

Alison Sibol (Mathematics) - Created electives courses for Safe Zone training. 

Each year the College of Science’s Inclusion and Diversity committee awards the college's Inclusion and Diversity award to a faculty or staff member who has made significant and sustained contributions that foster diversity and an inclusive climate in the College, at Virginia Tech, and in the broader community.

Calls for nomination packets are typically made in early February, with a submission deadline in early March. These packets include a nomination letter and a self-statement from the person being nominated. 

 

Recent Awardees: 

  • 2019 Jane Robertson Evia, Statistics
  • 2020 Neil Hauenstein, Psychology
  • 2021 Giti Khodaparast, Physics 
  • 2022 Edna Fanny Jasso-Hernandez, Mathematics 
  • 2023 Lara Anderson, Physics 
  • 2024 Alma Robinson Physics

 

Partners

August 19, 2021 - Virginia Tech students hang out on campus during Welcome Week. (Photo by Mary Desmond/Virginia Tech)

Virginia Tech students hang out on campus during Welcome Week.

Student Opportunities & Achievement Resources (SOAR) Program

Creating Technologies MFA student Rodney Kimbangu harvesting beans in the Indigenous Garden.

Cultural & Community Centers

student with VT flag studying in antarctica

Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program

female student research pipets into tube

Office for Undergraduate Research

Lonnie Gonsalves. Photo courtesy Lonnie Gonsalves. Scientist Lonnie Gonsalves squats on a beach, its sand wet, while holding wires and other pieces of hardware.

Scientist Lonnie Gonsalves squats on a beach, its sand wet, while holding wires and other pieces of hardware.

College of Science Departmental Committees

students gather around a computer

First Generation Student Support

Hokie Transfer Community logo

Transfer Student Initiatives

Long-time Virginia Tech professors Jay Stipes and Harry Dorn sit in the latter's office laughing and reminiscing about a 150-year old book that belonged to a Virginia Tech chemist. Both men are wearing Hokie gear and sports coats. Photo by Melissa Vergara.

Inclusive Excellence at VT

Office for Equity and Accessibility

Dean of Students: Basic Needs and Services

Programs

Funding Opportunities for Current Students and Faculty 

The College of Science, as administered by the College’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee and Assistant Dean for Inclusion and Diversity, supports a wide range of events and programs. These funds are geared towards supporting under-represented and underserved scholars and diversity, equity, and inclusion focused efforts and research.

Such funding opportunities may include:

  • Hosting a Speaker Events and Programs 
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research Projects 
  • Outreach Initiatives 
  • Travel Support for Conferences

We ask that, for any funding from the COS IDEA Committee, you also seek matching funds. This could come from your home department or any of the funding opportunities found across the university, including: 

The College of Science Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee accepts funding requests on a rolling basis throughout the year. To submit a funding request, please fill out the following Microsoft form.