Commitments & Progress
The Institute continues to move forward with intention as we build on the solid foundation of our collective efforts.
Caltech has committed to immediate actions and initiatives to:
Build the Pipeline
Double the number of WAVE undergraduate diversity research fellowships
Progress: We have exceeded the doubling goal and have secured funding to offer 65 WAVE Fellowships for Summer 2021. Research centers and institutes across campus, academic programs, the divisions, and donors have pulled together to make this a reality. To support recruitment for these fellowships that include a summer stipend, airfare, and a credit for on-campus housing, Student-Faculty Programs hosted a series of information sessions organized by research area, and participated in targeted recruitment efforts at minority-serving institutions and events. The next stage is for our faculty to become active mentors to foster these talented students in their groups.
Establish 10 centrally held Presidential Graduate Fellowships
Progress: Ten Presidential graduate fellowships for the purposes of increasing diversity are available for this graduate student admissions cycle. They will be stewarded by Graduate Dean David Chan in concert with the options. The divisions plan to provide additional graduate fellowships keyed to diversity.
Establish a Graduate Summer Research Institute (GSRI)
Progress: In mid-September, the Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity welcomed 19 graduate students to the inaugural Graduate Summer Research Institute. GSRI provided opportunities for students to connect with one another in virtual formats and to acclimate to graduate school and the Caltech community. Caltech is committed to building on the success of this initial program as we create an on-campus GSRI in coming years.
Build upon the success of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program to ensure additional postdoctoral scholars of color across the divisions
Progress: We have doubled the number of Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows to 12 across the Institute, supplemented by additional postdoctoral fellowships in the divisions, all dedicated to increasing diversity. Caltech, under the leadership of Chief Diversity Officer and Vice Provost Cindy Weinstein and former Graduate Dean Doug Rees, competed successfully for an expanded award from the National Science Foundation to create the Research University Alliance (RUA). Through RUA, we will be working with our original AGEP partners, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford, and new ones, Georgia Tech, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Washington, to identify and recruit talent, and to provide community and mentoring for postdoctoral cohorts through mechanisms such as research exchange programs.
Redouble our efforts to make the case for philanthropic support for these and other diversity and inclusion initiatives
Progress: Information about supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives is now available on the Break Through campaign website, and links to this page are included in Caltech communications.
- Underwrite the funding for the First-Year Success Research Institute and raise long-term endowment funds
Progress: FSRI expanded to serve 32 students in 2020 in a virtual environment. We are committed to providing steady funding, and we are actively seeking endowment funds for the program. Donors can use this link to give. - Establish a fund to experiment with new minority-serving initiatives in local outreach
Progress: The new Diversity Outreach Fund enables Caltech to develop and test innovative outreach initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of basic science and engineering principles among underrepresented students at local pre–k, elementary, middle, and high schools. The fund is managed by the President's Diversity Council in coordination with the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach. A fundraising effort is under way. Donors can use this link to give. - Provide recruitment funds for participation in minority-serving conferences
Progress: A fundraising effort is under way. Donors can use this link to give.
For more information on giving opportunities, contact Nicole Weaver-Goller, senior director of development.
Improve Transparency
Publish disaggregated data regarding diversity across faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students
Progress: Caltech is committed to collecting disaggregated data and making it publicly available. We will provide the material as openly as possible, consistent with legal constraints and the condition that the statistics are sufficient so that individuals cannot be identified. We will continue to analyze and post this information, track progress, and hold ourselves accountable.
The Demographic Data page on this site includes such data. Further information will be available on the Institutional Research Office site.
Conduct a campus climate survey to understand personal experiences of Caltech
Progress: From May 4 to May 28, 2021, the Institute conducted a campus climate survey to more fully understand the experiences of individuals who work and study on campus, and to thereby foster a more inclusive, equitable, and accessible community.
The survey was developed by the Climate Survey Working Group—whose members represent all campus constituencies—in consultation with Rankin & Associates. Results of the campus climate survey, expected in November 2021, will be crucial for guiding our future diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Provide unconscious bias training for search committees across campus
Progress: The Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity has created training modules available to the Institute community and works with teams, units, and departments to develop customized training.
Clarify procedures for reporting instances of racist behavior to the Institute's Title IX and Equity Office
Progress: This website has been redone completely. It now directly describes procedures for reporting racial discrimination and where to turn for general support.
Create a dedicated Institute webpage to articulate Caltech's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Progress: This site was published on January 11, 2021.
Improve news coverage of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics on campus, including the activities and accomplishments of Caltech's Black community
Progress: Caltech's main webpage and Ion Caltech now feature more events and stories related to diversity, and more prominently reflect the activities and accomplishments of Caltech's Black community. The Caltech Center for Inclusion and Diversity, led by Tashiana Bryant-Myrick, has increased its timely programming, with attendant publicity.
Increase diverse speakers and diverse perspectives at Caltech invited events
Progress: Planning is under way to collect data necessary to set goals and measure progress. Caltech research centers and institutes recently launched the new seminar series Diverse Minds, a campus-wide program for distinguished speakers from a diversity of backgrounds to share their science and personal journey into science with the Caltech community.
Constitute an advisory committee to explore best practices and make recommendations about graduate and undergraduate admissions
Progress: In April 2021, the Advisory Committee on Student Admissions and Recruitment, appointed by President Thomas F. Rosenbaum and chaired by Professor Tim Colonius, advanced a set of 11 recommendations to help the Institute recruit and holistically support a more diverse group of graduate students, particularly those from racially minoritized communities. Read the committee's full report.
Constitute a task force to advise on Caltech policy for naming buildings on campus: past, present, and future
Progress: In December 2020, members of the Committee on Naming and Recognition (CNR), appointed by President Rosenbaum, unanimously recommended that Caltech rename the Robert A. Millikan Memorial Library and other assets and honors that memorialize Robert A. Millikan. The committee also unanimously recommended the renaming of assets and honors memorializing Harry Chandler, Ezra S. Gosney, William B. Munro, Henry M. Robinson, and Albert B. Ruddock.
The recommendation followed extensive consideration of Millikan's participation in the eugenics movement as a late trustee of the Human Betterment Foundation (HBF); of Gosney as HBF founder and president; and of Chandler, Munro, Robinson, and Ruddock as either HBF founding trustees or members. The committee also considered evidence of Millikan's stances on gender, race, and ethnicity.
Throughout its discussions the CNR returned to these core commitments: Caltech's mission, its values, its Honor Code, and its aspirations for the future.
President Rosenbaum fully endorsed the committee's recommendations and presented them to the Caltech Board of Trustees, which in January 2021 authorized the Institute to proceed with name removal and renaming.