Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

EH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Mission Statement

The purpose of the DEI Committee is to support the EH department by advocating for diversity, inclusion, and equity among staff, faculty and students, and contributing to policies and practices that create systems of accountability. Our goal is to assist the EH department to identify and measure challenges and progress toward achieving our vision of diversity, equity and inclusion. Challenges include, but are not limited to, historic and present biases and discriminatory practices in the field of environmental health and in our department. The DEI committee recognizes that while diversity, equity, and inclusion are interdependent (e.g., an environment that lacks diversity and is not equitable will not likely be inclusive) they each require independent strategies.

Membership of the Committee includes faculty, students and staff, as well as research associates, and alumni. We meet every month.

DEI Committee Chair: Les Boden, Professor

Current Members: Christine Copacino, Academic Program Administrator; Beverly Ge, Doctoral Student; Jocelyn Fimbres, Doctoral Student; Heather Ho, Program Manager; Anoop Jain, Assistant Professor; Muskaan Khemani, Research Assistant; Kipruto Kirwa, Assistant Professor; Chad Milando, Research Scientist; Keith Spangler, Research Scientist.

Past Members: Caitlin Brand, Academic Program Administrator; Paige Brochu, Doctoral Student; Alexa Friedman, Doctoral Student; Stephanie Grady, Doctoral Student; Jenna Groh, Doctoral Student; Jessica Leibler, Associate Professor; Geraldine Medina, Masters Student; Sean Mueller, Doctoral Student; Jennifer Oliver, Doctoral Student; Junenette Peters, Associate Professor; Erin Polka, Masters Student and Staff; Madeleine Scammell, Associate Professor; Jennifer Stowell, Postdoctoral Fellow.

Current activities are focused on:

  • Promoting awareness of racism, and racist policies and practices, in the communities we serve, where we work and live (i.e., Boston area), that necessarily inform our work going forward so that present and future BUSPH EH department members have a shared understanding and appreciation for our unique history, context and current struggles (e.g., redlining, election practices, bussing, EJ, housing,).
  • Establishing an EH DEI website, email address and department presence that serves as a repository of resources and opportunities related to DEI in the department, in the classroom and in research, specifically including but not limited to race, racism, and gender identity.
  • Developing a culture and climate process that engages department members in the evaluation of our culture in relation to our vision, reflecting on our past record on DEI, identifying opportunities for improvement, and in the process of “unlearning and relearning,” uplifting voices, building community, encouraging disruption, growth and learning.
  • Collecting, examining and sharing best practices for the recruitment of diverse and under-represented students (pre- and post-graduate masters and doctoral level) in the department and our programs (e.g., URBAN).
  • Collecting, examining and sharing best practices for the retention of diverse and under-represented students in the department and our programs (e.g., URBAN).

The DEI Committee hopes to learn from and collaborate with other SPH department and school-level committees. If you have ideas, resources, or simply want to connect with the EH DEI Committee, contact us. EHDEI@BU.EDU

Current EH DEI Initiatives and Related Events

Gijs van Seventer Environmental Health Spring 2024 Seminar Series

#Inclusive_Research. Within the BUSPH EH Slack site, the DEI Committee established a thread for sharing and discussing information regarding research, proposals, and activities that highlight efforts to consider DEI principles in research design and reporting.

“Things I Wish I Knew” –

BU EH Ouch, Oops, Whoa (OOW) Pilot Program

  • Boston University Environmental Health’s Ouch, Oops, Whoa (OOW) is a subcommittee of the EH Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Committee, formed to develop a process to engage department members in the evaluation of our culture and climate in efforts to uplift voices, build community, and encourage disruption, growth, and learning. Inspired and informed by the University of California San Francisco HEALS model, we worked closely alongside BU’s Office of Diversity to develop a program (BU EH OOW) for interrupting and addressing moments of bias and exclusionary behavior when they occur in the classroom. Central to the program’s framework is the OOW communication recovery model, aimed at creating space for growth and transformation, by providing resources to navigate difficult conversations through practices of cultural humility and self-awareness. We piloted this program in four EH Classrooms in the fall of 2021 and are now evaluating lessons learned for broader implementation of the program.

BUSPH Links

Additional Resources