Meeting People Where They Are: IMOD’s Effort to Broaden Participation by Attending Conferences Centered on Underrepresented Groups in STEM

by Christopher Arnette

One of the true failings of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is not in the generation of ideas or the creation of sustainable programs and practices within an organization, but instead, the failure of an organization to translate those ideas, programs, and practices, in a space that reaches the communities that they wish to serve. This year, IMOD has made a concerted effort to intentionally and respectfully make itself available to these communities by attending national conferences aimed at providing resources and access for those underrepresented in STEM.

This fall, IMOD had booths at the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM conference, and at the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS). IMOD’s presence at these conferences presented the center with a unique opportunity to connect with these communities and forge new connections with students, postdocs, and faculty from minority serving institutions (MSIs). As a result, IMOD has slowly begun the process of understanding the needs of these institutions, so that we can build mutually beneficial relationships that will last beyond the lifetime of the center. While the return on such activities can often be slow, IMOD’s engaging in such activities can potentially have far-reaching benefits. The  impact of IMOD’s presence at these conferences has already being realized in the form of REU applications from conference participants and the identification of and on-going discussions with potential research seminar speakers from MSIs, suggesting that IMOD is on the right track to have meaningful and sustained relationships in the future.