SABER's Diversity & Inclusion Efforts

An initiative continuing in fall 2021 and spring 2022, which will be sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) and will be focused on promoting awareness, understanding and commitment to change academic biology environments to be more inclusive. All 1-hour sessions will be virtual and administered through Zoom; sessions will be recorded and posted on the SABER website below this. This series will be co-sponsored by the SEISMIC Collaboration, and the ASU RISE Center.

Please click here for our full event flyer.


Past talks


Understanding oppression faced by Asian Americans

Sapna Cheryan, PhD, University of Washington

Thursday, September 16th, 2021, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recording | Presentation slides


The meaning beyond the words: How language, race, & culture impact science teaching & learning

Bryan Brown, PhD, Stanford University

Thursday, October 21st, 2021, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recordingQ&A 


Mapping the terrain of othering: Religious, gendered, and racial exclusion on historically white campuses

Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad, PhD, Muslim Wellness Foundation

Keon M. McGuire, PhD, Arizona State University

Thursday, November 18th, 2021, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recording


Effective, culturally responsive mentorship

Angela Byars-Winston, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Thursday, January 20th, 2022, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recording | Q&A | Additional resources


Reframing equity in STEM education with historically minoritized communities: Seeding rightful presence

Edna Tan, PhD, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Thursday, February 10th, 2022, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recording | Q&A | Resource 1, resource 2, resource 3


Creating a culture of access in academic biology: A focus on disability

(unfortunately this event has been cancelled)

M. Remi Yergeau, PhD, University of Michigan

Thursday, March 17th, 2022, 9 am PT


This series is sponsored by SABER and these co-sponsors:


An initiative in spring 2021 sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) focused on promoting awareness, understanding and commitment to change academic biology environments to be more inclusive. All 1-hour sessions were virtual and administered through Zoom; sessions were recorded and posted on the SABER website below. This series was co-sponsored by Arizona State University’s HHMI Inclusive Excellence Project, the SEISMIC Collaboration, the Community College BIO INSITES, and the ASU RISE Center.

Click here for a flyer with all of the events, dates, and Zoom links. 

If you would like all the events added to your calendar, please click here. 

Interrogating the center of STEM education

Cynthia Bauerle, PhD, James Madison University

Thursday, January 21st, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Addressing students’ basic needs with a culture of caring during the pandemic

Sara Goldrick-Rab, PhD, Temple University

Thursday, February 4th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Structural racism, institutional transformation, and diversifying the STEM faculty

Kimberly Griffin, PhD, University of Maryland

Thursday, February 18th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


The influence of kindness and community in broadening participation

Mica Estrada, PhD, UC San Francisco

Thursday, March 4th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A-1, Post-talk Q&A-2


Systemic disadvantages for LGBTQ professionals in STEM

Erin Cech, PhD, University of Michigan

Thursday, March 18th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Disability culture in the academy: Stories, lessons & research

Anjali Forber-Pratt, PhD, Vanderbilt University

Thursday, April 1st, 9 am PT

(unfortunately this event has been cancelled)

Event flyer


Land of milk and "honey": Confronting gendered experiences in field research

Katie Hinde, PhD, Arizona State University

Thursday, April 15th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A, Post-talk Q&A AdditionalAdditional Resources


Nature-culture relations and engaging multiple ways of knowing

Megan Bang, PhD, Northwestern University

Thursday, April 29th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording


Beyond information: Walking the path of truth, reconciliation, and liberation to make academic biology more inclusive

Mays Imad, PhD, Pima Community College

Thursday, May 13th, 9 am PT

Event flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A






An initiative sponsored by the Society for the Advancement in Biology Education Research (SABER) focused on promoting awareness, understanding and commitment to change academic biology environments to be more inclusive and strive for racial justice in STEM education.

This 7-part series in 2020 included four discussions and three research seminars with the intended audience of biologists and biology education researchers.

All 1-hour sessions were virtual and administered through Zoom; sessions were recorded and posted below for viewing afterwards. We are excited that speakers were compensated for their time and this event was co-sponsored by Arizona State University’s HHMI Inclusive Excellence Project, SEISMIC Collaboration, and University of California Santa Barbara.

Race REALLY matters. Discussion.

Thursday, August 27, 11 am central

David Asai, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Full flyer

Video RecordingPresentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Actionable steps toward equity in STEM. Discussion.

Thursday, September 10, 12 pm central
Starlette Sharp, Penn State University,

John Matsui, PhD, UC Berkeley

Full flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Lessons from a hot spring: Authentic transformation in the higher education classroom. Discussion.
Monday, September 21, 11 am central

Bryan Dewsbury, PhD, University of Rhode Island

Full flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


Language matters: Considering racial microaggressions in science. Discussion
Thursday, October 8, 1:30 pm central
Colin Harrison, PhD, Georgia Tech

Kimberly Tanner, PhD, San Francisco State University

Full flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A

But is it really “just” science? Engaging critical race theory to unpack racial oppression with implications for Black student science engagement. Seminar.
Wednesday, October 21, 11 am central
Terrell Morton, PhD,  University of Missouri

Full flyer

Video Recording, PresentationPost-talk Q&A



 

Black women and belongingness: An interrogation of STEM education as a white, patriarchal space. Seminar.

Thursday, November 19, 2 pm central
Luis Leyva, PhD,
Vanderbilt University

Nicole Joseph, PhD, Vanderbilt University

Full flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


An exploratory investigation of the experiences of Black immigrant women in undergraduate STEM. Seminar.
Tuesday, December 1, 2 pm central
Meseret Hailu, PhD,
Arizona State University

Brooke Coley, PhD, Arizona State University

Full flyer

Video Recording, Presentation Slides, Post-talk Q&A


SEE THE FLYER FOR ALL 7 EVENTS HERE.


This series is sponsored by SABER and these co-sponsors:





Diversity & Inclusion Action Group on Place and Racial Justice

In addition to the Diversity &  Inclusion Committee, in spring 2020, SABER convened an Action Group on Place and Racial Justice. This group worked to (1) identify the issues of "place" that confer a sense of safety, or lack thereof, to our members identifying as People of Color and (2) assess actions that SABER and SABER members can take to promote awareness of and action surrounding racial justice in whatever place we select to meet with one another going forward. 

During the Virtual 2020 SABER Annual Conference, SABER undertook a racial justice self study. Dr. Kecia Thomas, Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and African-American Studies, the founding director of the Center for Research and Engagement in Diversity, and the Senior Associate Dean of Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia, facilitated the self-study. Learn more about this process and the results in these videos from the conference.

  • Watch a keynote address by Dr. Thomas here.
  • Watch a summary of the results from the self-study here.
  • Watch a report on plans for the future based on the self-study here.

SABER's Statement of Solidarity with the Black Community

The Black community in the United States deserves to feel safe no matter where they are. However, events in recent weeks remind us how systemic racism and biases threaten that safety. We as an academic community stand in solidarity with the Black community against these tragic injustices, and we are committed to finding ways to ensure our community is safe and welcoming. As a biology education organization, we are specifically committed to supporting our students and colleagues who are in pain and hurting because of these senseless acts of violence against Black Americans.

Since its inception, SABER has been graciously hosted by the University Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis. However, as a society, we need to reckon with our lack of awareness and action pertaining to the longstanding racial injustices across the country, and particularly in Minneapolis - injustices that resulted in the murder of George Floyd and violence against countless other Black Americans. One of the stated goals of our organization is to "strive for an inclusive community", part of which requires us to better understand and respond to the ways in which these longstanding racial injustices impact the lives of our students, members and colleagues. Moving forward, we commit as a society to educating ourselves and taking anti-racist action in the places where we convene, whether that be in Minneapolis or elsewhere. Furthermore, we will fight against systemic racism to better understand the potential struggles of our students and colleagues, particularly if we do not share their racial identities.

A first step to address these injustices is to increase our understanding of these inequalities and how our own biases are potentially contributing to these issues. We have compiled a suite of resources that can help us:

Suggested Articles:

Podcasts:

For additional anti-racism books, podcasts, and articles, click here.

Sincerely,

SABER Executive Committee and SABER Diversity and Inclusion Committee

SABER Financially Pressures Minnesota to End Police Brutality

The Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER), a national organization of researchers dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of post-secondary biology, took a stand today with protesters across the country calling for the end of police brutality. For eight years, SABER has held its annual meetings in Minneapolis and over the years it has brought in thousands of visitors to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis.  Today SABER sent letters to the Governor of Minnesota, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and many others informing them that the Society would no longer hold their conference in Minnesota until the state has demonstrated a commitment to racial justice:

“We need to see tangible evidence of action for justice for Mr. Floyd and of changes in Minnesota law enforcement. Such changes would include de-escalation training for police, firing of police who violate human rights, and implicit bias training for all government officials, police, and other public servants. These actions will allow its citizens of color to feel protected, not threatened, by police.  We need to see the requests, needs and perspectives of your Black communities in Minneapolis and Minnesota honored.”

The full letter can be found here.

In addition to leveraging its financial resources to stand with protesters, SABER recognizes that as a professional society they also have internal work to do.  They have announced initiatives to educate their own members about white privilege and systemic racism and assess additional actions they can take to promote racial justice both in biology classrooms and at their meetings.  They have also formed a new committee to assess possible locations for their conference that ‘confer[s] a sense of safety to [their] members.’

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

The SABER Diversity & Inclusion Committee welcomes all SABER members interested in contributing to SABER's efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.

Contact the committee chairs for more information.

Sara Brownell (sbrownel@asu.edu)

Colin Harrison (colin.harrison@biosci.gatech.edu)


SABER is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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