Introduction
This report is a summary of the major ongoing discussions, activities, and projects of the Duke Biology AJED committee for the 2022-2023 academic year under the leadership of Committee Chair Nina Sherwood. During the 2022-2023 academic year, the AJED committee met 3 times (October, November, December) in the fall semester and 4 times in the spring semester (Jan, Feb, March, April).
An important part of AJED’s work for the 2022-2023 academic year was to interface with the Kardia Group (Diana Kardia and Nelia Viveiros) who were hired for the year to consult with us on departmental climate which, as indicated by the Duke Biology Self Study needed improvement on several fronts. We worked with the Kardia Group to further understand points of concern across the department (e.g., via listening circles and surveys, as well as direct input from AJED members) and develop short- and long-term strategies to address these challenges. Major lessons were the need for cultural change and community building within the department. Accordingly, this was the predominant theme underlying this year’s projects and subcommittees, summarized below. Looking ahead, AJED aims to continue to serve as 1) a sounding board, to identify problems relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the department, and 2) an accountability board, to make sure that these issues are followed up on and addressed to the best possible extent.
The entire annual report is available as a PDF: