In this quarter’s newsletter:

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Report: "Truths About DEI on College Campuses," from the National DEI Defense Coalition, provides evidence-based expert responses to counter politicized misinformation about DEI programs. The National DEI Defense Coalition at USC’s Race and Equity Center compiles data and resources to dispel myths and disseminate facts about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Article: Shaun Harper's "Dear Colleague Letter in Defense of DEI" outlines eleven concrete actions higher-ed institutions can take to uphold their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Memo: Writing particularly to university leaders and general counsels, distinguished law professors explain why common DEI initiatives remain legally defensible despite President Trump’s January 21 Executive Order and related communications from the DOE and other agencies. 

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Toolkit: The Change Leadership Toolkit 2.0 is a set of tools to help higher-ed institutions develop strategies and leadership competencies to implement systemic change. Revised and republished in 2024, the toolkit uses findings from a two-year research project that followed systemic change initiatives at 12 campuses supported by the Sloan Foundation.

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Resource: EducationCounsel maintains a Summary and Analysis of Trump Executive Actions Impacting Higher Education, last updated on April 2. EducationCounsel, a law and policy organization, has assisted the Sloan Foundation in equipping campus leaders to defend and retain programs that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

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Interview: The president of the National Academies shares her perspective on the impact of federal government actions on agencies that fund science in the U.S. and discusses how NASEM is addressing the challenges ahead.

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Open Letter: The American Council on Education published a letter on February 25 decisively pushing back on the Department of Education's threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion. “Efforts to build inclusive and diverse campus communities are neither discriminatory nor illegal,” wrote ACE President Ted Mitchell. The letter is undersigned by more than 60 higher-education associations, including the Council of Graduate Schools and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

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Podcast: The dotEDU podcast from the American Council on Education breaks down current issues impacting higher education each week, with recent episodes addressing the latest policy shifts, the future of campus diversity and support for students, and legal battles impacting higher education. Episodes from the archive also feature interviews about leadership, research experiences, and student mental health.

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Career support for researchers and federal workers: Career-development officers at the University of Illinois and MIT are offering free career support services to people impacted by federal firings, funding cuts, and hiring freezes. The volunteers—Derek Attig, Aurora Cruz-Torres, and Alexandria Yen—have experience supporting Master’s and PhD holders from STEM disciplines, education, DEI, and many other fields. Request a résumé review, CV review, or 30-minute career counseling conversation here. 

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Webinar: Finding and Applying for Non-Academic Jobs, presented by Dr. Sara Elshafie on March 27, 2024.

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Resource hub: ScienceCareers is a robust online job board from the journal Science. On its Resources page, you can find much more—including career planning tools, videos and trainings on aspects of the scientific job search, and booklets that summarize career trends. Most resources are designed to apply to a variety of scientific careers across sectors.

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Resource hub: The National Academies of Science's Committee on Human Rights maintains a list of resources for researchers and scholars threatened with censorship, discrimination, surveillance, and other infringements on their rights. Linked resources also include safety guidelines for scientists engaging in whistleblowing and nonviolent protest.

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Book: In “On Being a Mentor: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty," authors W. Brad Johnson and Kimberly A. Griffin offer research-informed strategies for inclusive and effective mentorship. 

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Seminar Series: Indige-FEWSS Native Voices in STEM is a talk series from the University of Arizona Indigenous Resilience Center that highlights the inspiring journeys of “scientists working with Tribal communities, engineers, activists, community members, and leaders to empower the next generation of change-makers.” This year’s series has already featured Sloan Scholar alumni Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben (U of Arizona ’06) and Dr. Joseph Brewer (U of Arizona ’08) as speakers!

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Special Issue: Engineering a Diverse Future, a special issue of The Bridge, addresses issues around sustaining an engineering workforce that “builds on and integrates the talents and ideas of our diverse nation." Contributors present plans for sustaining a diverse and inclusive engineering workforce; current challenges in this effort; the role of mentorship; the history of the movement to diversify engineering fields; and more. This special issue was published last fall by the National Academies of Science and guest edited by Wanda Sigur and Percy Pierre.

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Sloan Scholar Alumna Seeks Women-in-STEM Panelists: Sloan Scholar alum Karla Fuller (Purdue University '06), professor of biology and interim dean of faculty and academic affairs at Guttman Community College at City University of New York, shares the following invitation:

Guttman Community College (CUNY) Science and Mathematics Department and the Center for Career Preparation & Partnership would like to invite women-identifying Sloan Scholar alumni in the New York City metro area to participate on an in-person Women in STEM Panel for college faculty and students on Tuesday, April 8th, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Food will be provided, and an honorarium will be given as a thank you for panelists' time and expertise.

We prefer in-person panelists, but may accommodate remote participation if necessary. If you're interested in participating, please email [email protected].

Karla S Fuller, PhD

Sloan Scholar, Purdue University '06

Interim Dean of Faculty & Academic Affairs

Professor of Biology

Stella and Charles Guttman Community College – City University of New York

[email protected]

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Job openings at the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Research Director, Center for Science and Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists — Deadline: Open until filled. The CSD Research Director at the Union of Concerned Scientists will "manage a team of researchers that are working to ensure that government decisions are informed by the best possible science and evidence, free from political interference, responsive to diverse community voices." Salary: $151,661. Read more.

Senior Climate Scientist, Climate & Energy program, Union of Concerned Scientists — Deadline: Open until filled. "The Senior Climate Scientist provides physical climate science thought leadership, science direction, and technical and analytical support to advance the Climate and Energy Program mission." This position also "designs and carries out a robust research agenda including publishing in peer-review journals and co-creating UCS products for nontechnical audiences." Salary: $134,805. Read more.

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Postdoc Research Opportunities at Federal Labs: NRC Research Associateship Programs, spring cycle (NASEM) — Application Deadline: May 1, 2025 

This program offers prestigious postdoctoral and senior research awards designed to provide scientists and engineers with high-quality research opportunities at federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. There are four application periods per year.

In addition to postdoctoral associateships for recent PhD graduates, senior associateships are offered for applicants who have held a doctorate for at least five years or who have a permanent appointment in academia, government, or industry.

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Funding Opportunity: Environmental Literacy for Community Resilience (NASEM Gulf Research Program and NOAA Environmental Literacy Program) — Application Deadline: May 21, 2025

This program aims to enhance community resilience and increase the environmental literacy of community members across the U.S. Gulf Coast states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida) through place-based education. This funding opportunity will support projects that educate community members on local environmental challenges, engage learners in solutions-oriented activities, and empower participants to engage in them.

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Damena Agonafer (UIUC '15), Natasha Batalha (Penn State '17), Paloma Beamer (Stanford '07), and Debbie Senesky (UC Berkeley '07) were recognized by President Biden on January 14 with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). It is "the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers."

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Alán Aspuru-Guzik (UC Berkeley '04) received the 2024 PRISM prize in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the science of matter, particularly for “the development and application of advance computational and machine learning techniques to accelerate the discovery of novel materials and molecular systems.”

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Joseph Brewer (U of Arizona '08), Michael Kotutwa Johnson (U of Arizona '19), and colleagues published the inaugural column of the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Editorial Circle in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, titled “Indigenous food sovereignty: Pathways for Native scholars: Revitalizing Indigenous food systems through research and knowledge-sharing.”

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Marcos Caraballo-Ortiz (Penn State '18), a 2024 SSMN Academic Boot Camp participant, will start a new position as Herbarium Curator and Instructional Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi in August.

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Ruben Michael Ceballos (U of Montana '10) and colleagues published their article, "BPS2025 - Sensing RNA stability by a silicon nitride nanopore device," in Biophysical Journal.

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Yamixa Delgado (UPR Rio Piedras '15), a two-time SSMN grantee, was selected as a Component II Scholar for the HCTRED Program, which will support her research on the development of non-invasive diagnostic tests for lung cancer.  

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Nancy Diaz El-Sayed (UC Berkeley '13) was named Faculty Mentor of the Year by the Florida Undergraduate Research Association.

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Cesunica Ivey (Georgia Tech '16), an SSMN grantee, was one of three recipients of her institution's 2024-25 Chancellor's Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence and Equity.  

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Chandra Jack (Rice '12) and Clark University recently established the Experimental Plant Investigation Center (EPIC) to “expand opportunities for studying climate change, sustainable agriculture, and urban rural ecosystems.”

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Michael Kotutwa Johnson (U of Arizona '19) was appointed to the Arizona Resource Advisory Council at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. His colleague at University of Arizona stated that "his expertise in natural resources, combined with lived experience as a member of the Hopi Tribe, brings a unique and essential perspective" to issues impacting over 12 million acres of federal land.

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Karen Lozano (Rice '99) was honored by the UTSA Student Government Association for her exemplary work as a faculty member, mentor, and leader at her institution.

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Laura Munoz (UC Berkeley '04), winner of the 2024 Young Mission-Critical Engineer of the Year Award from Data Center Dynamics, will be a featured speaker at the 2025 DCD Talks in New York this month.

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Unoma Okorafor (Texas A&M '08) was recognized as one of 50 Inspiring Nigerian Women of 2025.   

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Seafha Ramos (Purdue '04) and two colleagues recently co-edited a special issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, titled “skúkum tílixam: Uniting to Support Indigenous Contributions to Molecular Ecology."

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Thomas Searles (Rice '11) was elected president of the National Society of Black Physicists and received the BEYA Conference Educational Leadership Award.