Stanford
Mechanical Engineering

Invitation to self-nominate for the ME DEI Committee

Apply here!

All applications are due by April 1, 2022 (11:59pm PT)

March 1, 2022 - Invitation to Self-Nominate for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

ME needs your energy, good ideas, and experiences in making ME@Stanford a place where all students, staff and faculty flourish!!

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford invites all student members of the Mechanical Engineering community to participate in the development, implementation and continual improvement of initiatives to create a diverse, just, and inclusive environment for all, with a specific focus on addressing the effects of systemic anti-Black racism on our community. We encourage participation by undergraduates majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Product Design, or Biomechanical Engineering, ME co-terms, graduate students in departmental M.S. or Ph.D. programs, and postdoctoral fellows who are committed to understanding historical and current roots of racism, and working to change the systems that perpetuate that racism. We seek self-nominations for two important groups:

  1. The Mechanical Engineering Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, and
  2. Application Readers.

The Mechanical Engineering Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

The ME DEI Committee was formed in the fall of 2020, and was composed of students and faculty members. The work of this inaugural Committee is documented in an Annual Report issued in June of 2021 (and summarized in this video) which includes this Executive Summary. Particularly important in this Report is the articulation of the Committee’s commitment to create an ME community without anti-Black racism and discrimination against all underrepresented minorities, where people feel welcome, heard, safe, and empowered to achieve their aspirations.  

The ME DEI home page contains lists the AY22 Committee Members (scroll down).

A particular focus of the Committee’s work for this year has been on setting departmental priorities related to DEI engagement, improving communications across, within and beyond the department on DEI matters, and establishing sustainable procedures for feedback and data collection more generally—all topics, concerns and opportunities identified in the work of the inaugural DEI Committee.

We are seeking student member self-nominations for the ME DEI Committee in AY23. We anticipate naming four (4) new student members for 1-2 year terms. Serving on this Committee is a way to affect programming, policies and the climate of our department. It is also a way to gain professional and leadership experience. The planned workload is 1-2 hours per week for Fall-Spring quarters of the service year(s), and one to two orientation meetings in the Spring before beginning service. A small honorarium is awarded to each student.

Self-nominations for the Committee should be submitted by April 1, 2022 (11:59 pm PT) via the ME DEI Committee and Reader Self-Nomination web-form. The form asks nominees to briefly describe:

  • their motivation for serving on the DEI Committee,
  • any previous experience or training related to diversity and inclusion,
  • what they hope to contribute to the Committee,
  • elements of their background that they see as relevant to the work on the Committee,
  • what measures of success would look like in creating a more diverse, just, inclusive and equitable Mechanical Engineering community, and
  • any questions (or concerns) about the ME DEI Committee.

March 1, 2022 - Invitation to be a Reader of Self-Nomination Applications for DEI Committee

We are seeking volunteers to aid in the student selection process for the DEI Committee. The volunteer Application Readers will each review and score 5-6 anonymized applications using a provided scoring matrix. This process is expected to take no more than 5 hours and Readers will have 10 days to review the applications from April 5, 2022 to April 15, 2022. These scores will be used to rank the applications and select the DEI Committee members for AY22-23. Some Readers may be asked to participate in a discussion to select the AY22-23 DEI Committee members from a pool of the top-scoring applicants.

Self-nominations for the Reader pool should be submitted by April 1, 2022 (11:59 pm PT) via the ME DEI Committee and Reader Self-Nomination web-form. The form asks nominees to provide:

  • their current status within ME at Stanford (Undergraduate student/Graduate student/postdoctoral fellow)

  • a short statement on their motivation to be a Reader

If you plan on self-nominating to be a Committee member you should not volunteer to be an Application Reader.

Timeline:

March 1, 2022: Self-Nomination Process opens 

March 8, 2022: Information Session on Committee Work (7-9pm PT in 550-200 or via Zoom)

April 1, 2022: Self-Nominations are due

April 5, 2022: Applications are sent to Readers

April 15, 2022: Reader feedback is due

April 23, 2022: Decisions are announced

Selection Process:

Application Readers are identified from a pool of self-nominees. Effort will be made to create a proportional balance of Undergraduate students, Graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows within the Application Reader pool. Self-nomination applications are anonymized and three Readers are assigned to each application.

The anonymized applications are scored using a provided scoring matrix.

A final selection group consisting of the Committee members and select Readers review the top-scoring applications for final selection.

If you have any questions or concerns about the self-nomination process please contact Sheri Sheppard (sheppard@stanford.edu), Tammy Liaw (tammy.liaw@stanford.edu), Michael McDermott (mmcd1418@stanford.edu), or Myra Kurosu Jalil (mkurosu@stanford.edu).

Apply here!

All applications are due by April 1, 2022 (11:59pm PT)