Our overarching goal is to institute concrete and permanent changes in the Department that will elevate and support diverse voices within our community, and create platforms that cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion among department members, one that promotes inclusive excellence and allows everyone to be successful and thrive. Our objective is to increase diverse representation at all levels of training, and we strongly believe this is an achievable goal.
Our Commitment
The Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) is committed to convening and nurturing a diverse community of individuals dedicated to promoting excellence and leadership in neurobiology education, research, and service. Diverse perspectives, talents, experiences, and contributions as HMS students, trainees, faculty, staff, and administrators are the foundation and drivers of our excellence. Department administration and faculty members are committed to supporting underrepresented minorities in medicine (URM) in our department, and to strengthen our department members’ sense of inclusion, equity, and belonging.
We believe it is our moral imperative to achieve the goals of inclusion, equity, and belonging in our community. We acknowledge that the historical oppression of members of particular racial and ethnic groups and the perpetuated racism within society that exists today - including within institutions of higher education - have produced unacceptable racial inequities in academia. Dismantling oppressive and exclusionary structures while striving for racial equity is a priority for our Department; we are dedicated to implementing changes that will lead us to become an anti-racist Department and set an example at HMS, at Harvard, and academia in general.
In addition to race and ethnicity, we recognize that many other identities continue to be marginalized within academia, including those related to sex and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic circumstances, caretaker status, national origin, geographic background, immigration status, veteran status, people with different abilities, and more. These facets of identity are interdependent and, when combined, yield complex systems of discrimination and oppression that must be taken into account. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that elevates the voices of all members of our community and in parallel highlighting and promoting activities that encourage us to reflect as a department on blind spots and potential shortcomings as we work toward our goals.
