The UW Bioengineering Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee

The UW Bioengineering JEDI committee is coordinating with other committees to develop mechanisms to increase our department’s level of expertise on anti-racism and inclusive teaching and mentoring, to provide similar expertise to our trainees through curricular changes and workshops, to redesign our hiring, admissions, retention, and support processes to remove structural as well as individual biases, and to engage in transparent communication with the Bioengineering community that includes opportunities for feedback.

Missions and objectives for 2023-2024

  • Rushmer Lecture. Invite and host an expert in Bioengineering (or a related field), who can give the department Rushmer lecture in spring 2024 and meet with departmental stakeholders to provide insights to our JEDI activities.
  • Outreach Work with schools, organizations, and the community to promote interest in bioengineering
  • Representation:  Identify goals for diversity and representation in our community and programs, assess our progress in meeting these goals, and partner with other units inside and outside the department to identify the barriers limiting representation and remove them. 
  • DEI in the curriculum: A sub-group with representatives from the ACI, JEDI, and Curriculum Committees is working on incorporating DEI-focused topics, skills, and projects directly into BioE program curricula. They are working directly with instructors on specific course syllabi and collaborating with department leadership on setting broader equity-focused academic goals.
  • Inclusive mentorship  Help match undergraduates with non-faculty mentors (e.g. other ugrads, industry professionals, graduate students) for inclusive mentorship, including culturally aware mentoring.
  • Inclusive Ugrad research:  Promote inclusive research opportunities for undergraduate students, including identifying funding opportunities that allow students with financial need to participate in research.
  • EDI Communication:  Promote JEDI resources/events to students and faculty, including reviewing and refining the JEDI website.

JEDI Full Committee Published Meeting Minutes – Please note that the document will be updated with upcoming meetings minutes during the academic year.