Climate and Diversity
A Message from the GSA on Creating an Inclusive Environment
The Chemistry Graduate Student Association (GSA) has announced that they will launch a series of action items in response to the current events surrounding the abhorrent police brutality that lead to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other Black and African Americans across the country.
The Department of Chemistry strives to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone.The Code of Mutual Respect and Cooperation was developed to embody the values that we hope our faculty, staff, and students will put forward everyday.
Mission Statement
Our goal is to create a climate where everyone can be their authentic self because we believe every member of our community is important. We seek to create a community that encompasses all forms of diversity of dimensions and intersections, including race, ethnicity and nationality, age, gender and gender identity, sexuality, class and religion.
Click read more to read our mission statement on Climate and Diversity.
Department Ombudspeople work to facilitate communication between conflicting parties and refer people to a variety of resources for further assistance.
The Climate and Diversity committee's goal is to create a supportive and welcoming environment.
Graduate Student Advocates
The graduate student advocates help individual graduate students work through any issues that arise, help graduate students approach the Graduate Program Coordinator as needed, and serve as a liaison between graduate students, the Graduate Student Association, the Graduate Program Chair, and the Associate Head for Climate and Diversity.
Provide Feedback
The Climate and Diversity Committee wants your feedback! Keep reading to learn how you can provide feedback.
STEM Fall Open House
This program invites underrepresented undergraduates with strong academic records and research programs to explore graduate programs at the Penn State University Park campus. Keep reading to learn more!
Resources
Penn State offers many resources designed to create a welcoming environment for students. Keep reading to find a resource for you!
Chemists with Disabilities
Joseph Priestley, the chemist who discovered oxygen, had a speech impediment. William H. Wollaston, who discovered rhodium and palladium, was visually impaired. And Sir John W. Gornforth, who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the stereochemistry of enzymatic processes, was deaf. (Source: C&EN)
Sir John W. Cornforth, who received the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the stereochemistry of enzymatic processes, was deaf. (Source: C&EN)
Albert Einstein lived with dyslexia. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921), the Max Plank Medal (1929), and Time magazine's Person of the Century (1999). Einstein's intellectual achievements and originality have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with "genius." (Source: American Chemical Society, Chemists with Disabilities Committee)
