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Throughout 2025–2026, the D&I Committee made progress in four main areas as outlined in the strategic plan:
Seven working groups focused on achieving specific objectives within each of these areas. In addition, the D&I Committee continued collaborating with partners across campus on initiatives that support Thayer students, strengthen community, and promote health and wellness.
Goal: Align and hold leaders accountable to a shared vision and commitment towards building a community where all individuals feel supported and empowered to reach their fullest potential.
Working Group: Emily Monroe (chair), Simge Engelkiran, Ron Lasky
Objective: To sustain the Fireside Chat series and grow the representation of all participant types (students, staff, postdocs, faculty) through engaging events with Thayer leadership.
Milestones: Fireside Chats were held in each of the three academic terms, providing regular opportunities for all Thayer community members to come together in conversation. The series concluded with a refreshed format that drew the highest attendance of the year across all three constituencies.
Goal: Cultivate a welcoming and inclusive work and learning culture in which all students, staff, and faculty feel valued as an integral part of the community.
Working Group: Simge Engelkiran (co-chair), Katie Hixon (co-chair), Linda Braden, Hélène Seroussi
Objective: Empower every community member with the knowledge and tools to foster an inclusive environment and support continuous learning and community building across all levels of Thayer.
Milestones:
Community Fellows partnered in developing a student-focused Community Learning Series on "Navigating Power in Academia" for the Thayer community. Through weekly learning resources and facilitated community conversations, students had opportunities to reflect on the material, share perspectives, and engage in meaningful dialogue with one another.
Working Group: Jess Kinzie (co-chair), Gabriela Martinez (co-chair), Alex Boys, Christiane Buessard, Sol Diamond, Bruce Laferriere
Objective: Fostering an inclusive culture where students, staff, and faculty feel a strong sense of connection and belonging remains central to community life at Thayer. Through efforts that celebrate the diversity of the community and increase awareness of diverse, multicultural, and religious needs, Thayer continues to strengthen its environment where all members feel recognized, respected, and supported.
Milestones:
Goal: Refine existing or develop new faculty and staff recruitment and retention processes to ensure every employee has access to resources and opportunities to feel connected and supported, and to thrive.
Working Group: Emme Burgin (chair), Julia Abraham, Mattias Fitzpatrick, Wei Ouyang, Ashley Parker, Laura Ray
Objective: Build a more connected and supportive environment for junior tenure-track faculty by expanding mentorship opportunities, fostering community, broadening access to informal resources, and providing support for early-career challenges—ultimately contributing to stronger recruitment, retention, and tenure outcomes.
Milestones:
Working Group: Tricia Spellman (co-chair), Elisabeth Waltz (co-chair), Robin Frye, Lee Koh, Paula Olson, Lydia Reedstrom
Objective: Build a more connected and supportive environment for staff by expanding access to knowledge, resources, and professional networks that contribute to meaningful and successful career experiences at Thayer.
Milestones: This working group advanced its goal through three primary phases: assessing staff needs, analyzing data and identifying opportunities, and developing content to support future programming.
Goal: Refine existing or develop new student policies, practices, and programs to ensure every student has access to resources and opportunities to help them feel connected and supported, and to thrive.
Working Group: Jentry Campbell (chair), Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Kelli Kehoe, Eugene Korsunskiy, Erin Mayfield, Rafe Steinhauer
Objective: Increase the awareness of inclusive teaching practices used by Thayer teachers (professors, instructors, technical staff) at all levels of education through partnerships with Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL) and cross-Thayer sharing of teaching practices.
Milestones:
Working Group: Colin Meyer (co-chair), Hung V.-T. Nguyen (co-chair), Peter Chin, Bryce Ferguson, Rebecca Gallivan, Wesley Marrero
Objective: Efforts continued to broaden access to research opportunities for undergraduate and community college students who have had less access to such pathways. Through a remote research participation program, students engage with Thayer research labs, gain exposure to engineering research, and build meaningful connections with the academic community.
Milestones:
Throughout 2025–2026, Thayer continued to collaborate with campus-wide partners on ongoing initiatives that support Thayer students, strengthen the community, and bolster health and wellness. These initiatives include the following:
Objective: The Research Administration & Graduate Student Connector pilot, funded by Thayer's Community Success Grant, was designed to strengthen community cohesion and accelerate research impact by bridging the disconnect between graduate student researchers and the research administration staff who administer the grants and compliance processes that make their research possible. The initiative addressed an identified gap in knowledge transfer: graduate students—key creators of research knowledge—often lack visibility into the research support infrastructure and the pathways for grant development, compliance, and post-award management.
Milestones: In May 2026, Emily Monroe, recipient of the Thayer Community Success Grant, hosted a Research Administration Lunch Mixer bringing together six graduate students across multiple disciplines with six research administration staff members, including leadership, pre-award compliance, post-award compliance, budget management, and clinical research expertise. Prior to the event, a customized educational primer was developed to ensure graduate students arrived with foundational knowledge about the grant lifecycle, internal compliance deadlines, human subjects research (Institutional Review Board) protocols, and post-award operations. The structured yet conversational format—featuring brief introductions and facilitated dialogue using conversation prompts—enabled research administration staff to share the scope and importance of their work while graduate students gained a concrete understanding of how research administration expertise shapes projects from ideation through execution.
The D&I Committee launched a new annual Thayer Climate Survey to better understand community experiences and identify opportunities to strengthen climate and culture across Thayer. The short, anonymous survey is designed for students, faculty, and staff, with the student version now live and faculty and staff versions launching soon. Participation is encouraged across all groups, and results will help inform future planning and improvement efforts.
Thayer's Community Health and Wellness Committee helps foster a welcoming and supportive campus environment through programs that encourage well-being, connection, and community engagement. Over the course of the year, the committee hosted a range of opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to come together, build relationships, and participate in shared experiences.
During the monthly faculty meeting, the D&I Committee presented two sessions: one on Bachelor of Arts (AB)-Bachelor of Engineering (BE) student advising experiences, highlighting student perspectives on advising, and one on faculty-staff collaborative relationships, centering staff perspectives on workplace interactions and professional boundaries.
During the 2025–2026 academic year, Thayer Career Services partnered with campus colleagues to provide a range of panels and programs supporting international students. These offerings connected students with key campus resources, including Dartmouth's Office of Visa and Immigration Services (OVIS), and provided opportunities for both in-person and virtual advising and support.
The series of events included Optional Practical Training (OPT)/ Curricular Practical Training (CPT) sessions with Keri Niles from OVIS, a Q&A panel with international alumni, a "Life After Dartmouth" session with Susan Ellison from OVIS, and open office hours with Keri Niles from OVIS.
Community Fellows supported two collaboratively organized programs: "Communication" and "Navigating Power in Academia".
A communication-focused program designed to raise awareness and foster mutual understanding in interactions with classmates, supervisors, and colleagues.
For "Navigating Power in Academia", Community Fellows developed weekly learning resources that encouraged reflection and dialogue, culminating in a community conversation where participants could share perspectives and engage more deeply with the material.
In addition, Community Fellows completed individual programs that contributed to student learning, connection, and engagement.
Darsheel Sanghavi organized "Entrepreneurship for Everyone", an event facilitated by Magnuson Center Program Manager Kwame Owusu Ansah. The program invited students to think critically about how their research could have a broader community impact.
Riya Yadav organized "Your First 30 Days at Thayer," a project designed to support incoming students as they transition into the Thayer community. Through a focus group with current Thayer graduate students, she gathered student experiences and insights, then collaborated with Thayer Student and Academic Affairs to create a poster shared with incoming students during orientation.
Thayer offered multiple interactive sessions on bias and cultural understanding for students in the MEM 387 Professional Skills course, the PhD and MS ENGG 700 Ethics class, and a special session for the MEng cohort. These sessions created opportunities for students to engage with their classmates, reflect on important topics related to bias and culture, and build shared understanding through meaningful and engaging activities.
