What would you change about Hopkins?
That question, posed for the 2023 cycle of the Diversity Innovation Grant challenge, prompted submissions of ideas to improve Hopkins, with a particular focus on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Twenty project proposals received more than 1,000 votes from across the JHU community through the Idea Lab, which taps the collective wisdom of the Johns Hopkins community to help shape the trajectory of the university.
The proposal receiving the most votes was "Reflections of Scientists," which aims to build a community of historically under-represented minority scientists of all levels. A speaker series suggested by the project, "Seeing Myself in Science," will invite trainees to attend a monthly seminar featuring a Hopkins faculty member from a historically under-represented group to learn about their path in academia.
The challenge was established in 2012 by the Diversity Leadership Council, or DLC, to support the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in short-term projects.
"Each year, we receive many strong and thoughtful applications—which is no surprise given the enterprising nature of the Johns Hopkins University community," said DLC co-chairs James Calvin and Katrina Caldwell. "This year's DIG winners met the high threshold of innovative approaches to addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion gaps at the university. We cannot wait to see the new pathways and opportunities that will be generated by their work in action."
Additional ideas selected for this year's Diversity Innovation Grants include:
- A series of digital accessibility workshops for students, which received the second highest number of votes, proposes a series of workshops related to digital accessibility and designed to give students the tools to enhance their ability to create digitally accessible content.
- A training for research coordinators on best practices to recruit older adults from diverse groups into research studies.
- A university-community symposium to explore overlaps between antiracist teaching and school-based restorative justice.
- A multi-institutional alliance for community advocacy in Baltimore, which aims to create long-term support for Baltimore youth and investment in their recruitment to local colleges and universities, while promoting health care initiatives, sponsored by JHMI, for surrounding Baltimore residents.
- A gender-affirming closet, which would be a resource for JHU affiliates to obtain gender-affirming clothing, accessories, and makeup.
For more information about this year's winners and upcoming challenges offered via the Idea Lab, visit the Idea Lab website or reach out via email.
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