Educational inequities remain one of the most persistent and intractable problems in our society. Without equity, the STEM workforce will be unable to meet the needs of the growing economy and will also suffer from stunted innovation. Despite widespread efforts to increase access to and inclusion in STEM, minoritized students remain excluded from both STEM majors and STEM professions. The reasons for this exclusion are complex but instructors can play an active role in disrupting these inequities.

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series!

Presenting:
The Flower Meristem Identity Gene LEAFY affects the development of the haploid and diploid phase in ferns
Hannah McConnell (Di Stilio Lab)

A history dependent, integrase circuit for tracking gene expression during cell differentiation events
By: Cassandra Maranas (Nemhauser Lab)

It Takes Two: Predicting Outcomes as Things Heat Up
By: Jack Litle (Carrington Lab)

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series! Our November presentations:

Contextual fear recall re-establishes abnormal circadian-related activity in the absence of fear stimuli
By: Asad Beck (de la Iglesia Lab)

Identifying the genetic basis of avian iridescence
By: Yasmeen Erritouni (Leache Lab)

Inferring the paleobiology of a Triassic stem-crocodylian from a fossil bonebed in Arizona
By: Elliott Armour Smith (Sidor Lab)

Hosted by Vaibhav Chhaya

Join us for our fall 2023 grad student seminar series!

The CuticleTrace Toolkit: An automated method for leaf epidermal cell shape analysis
By: Ben Lloyd (Strömberg Lab)

Uncovering the molecular controls of flowering in a native seagrass
By: Christine Nolan (Imaizumi Lab)

Contrasting Topological and Quantitative Structures Drive Stability in Mutualistic Networks
By: Chris Anderson (Brosi Lab)

My work in teaching, scholarship, and service utilize a systems thinking approach. I will provide a framework for my approach to institutional change and efforts to reduce the structural and systemic inequities students and faculty face. I will outline the value of systems thinking as an organizing principle in the classroom. I will share strategies based on this approach that improve student engagement in classes and result in increased academic performance in our rigorous Biology classes.

By sharing my experiences and perspectives as a teaching professor, I hope to contribute to the ongoing demystification of the diverse pathways taken by teaching professors as they contribute to our shared missions of teaching, service, and scholarship. During this interactive presentation, we will have opportunities to reflect on and discuss strategies for building community, engaging learners, and improving equity, both in the classroom and beyond the classroom.

Biodiversity is uneven both across geographic regions and branches of the tree of life. In this talk, I will explore one possible cause for this pattern: variation in the rate at which new species form. Using a data set from lizards and snakes, I will discuss the possible factors influencing speciation rate variation.

Note: this talk was not recorded at the request of the speaker.