About JEDI
We are a group of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to improving the department with the goal of being inclusive and supportive of all students, especially BIPOC, URM, women, LGBTQ+, and otherwise marginalized groups in science and engineering.
Mission Statement
JEDI works to advance the department’s values of respect, acceptance, fairness, and accountability, and build a community in which the diversity and intersectionality of our members’ identities are recognized, accommodated, and celebrated. The initiative represents a joint effort among faculty, students, and staff, and is open to the entire departmental community. We are working to educate ourselves and our community to tackle the challenge of making our communities—small and large—more diverse and inclusive, more just and equitable.
JEDI hosts meetings every two weeks to coordinate our current efforts: we are evaluating and making transparent our department’s metrics on student experience, recruitment, and retention; we are spearheading the effort to compose a departmental values statement; we are planning and coordinating recruitment and outreach activities to broaden access to graduate school in general and to Cornell’s programs in particular; and we are working to create institutional change to improve community wellbeing and student retention.
Attend a Meeting
Meetings are held every other Wednesday at 1:30–2:30 PM and are open to all students, faculty, and staff.
On a complementary schedule with JEDI meetings, JEDI hosts a support space for the community. Faculty and staff are welcome to attend select community support gatherings.
JEDI meetings are held in a hybrid format: both in Thurston Hall 409A, as well as via Zoom.
Future meetings will be held on:
- July 17: JEDI meeting
- July 31: JEDI meeting
- August 14: JEDI meeting
Join the JEDI Mailing List
To stay up to date and receive Zoom meeting links, please join the listserv by sending an email to MSE-JEDI-L-request@cornell.edu with the single word “join” in the subject line and no other text.
Why We Are Doing This
Participating in the Academic Strike for Black Lives led to in-house student discussions and a letter written to faculty asking for several direct actions to promote JEDI goals. This group, established in March 2021, is a realization of point five of that letter. Our goal is to enact change that will outlast the participation of each generation of grad students. We strive to create change not only within our department but to create a network for improving JEDI across departments and universities.
How To Get Involved
Join us at an upcoming JEDI Meeting (find meeting dates above or on the Meetings page) and sign up for the mailing list (see above)! Everyone in the broader MSE community is welcome.
If you would like to learn more before joining a meeting, feel free to reach out to the Faculty Liaison, Prof. Julia Dshemuchadse, either by email or during office hours.
Activities
- MSE Department Climate Survey: Dylan Sotir, George Padilla
- The Hidden Curriculum of Graduate School: River Carson, Stephan Sutter
- Reading Club: George Padilla, Katherine Wang
- Events: Maya Ramesh, Maya Martirossyan, George Padilla, et al.