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About us

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

The William E. Boeing Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics is committed to creating and maintaining an educational and professional environment that uplifts people from marginalized backgrounds and supports all members of our community.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to our department and to our mission as a public educational institution. Diversity brings new ideas and perspectives to engineering which are critical for more creative, inclusive and successful solutions and innovations. We strive to create a supportive learning and working community, grounded in these principles, to foster understanding, communication, respect, and collaboration among people with diverse backgrounds, ethnicity, nationality and experiences that are critical to tackling significant challenges as students, teachers, professionals, and members of society.

We believe

  • A strong education can improve the lives of individuals and foster healthy, thriving communities that can close gaps due to disparities in opportunity and access.

  • Factors such as income, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexuality, physical or learning differences, national origin, and faith have unjustly shaped many disparities in our society.
  • Systemic biases exist in our society and our institutions, including academic institutions.

We commit to

  • Recruit, welcome, and support faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds, specifically including individuals from historically underrepresented groups in aerospace engineering.

  • Acknowledge, understand and directly confront the historical inequities in our field and the structures and barriers that have led to those inequities.

 

A&A's DEI initiatives

A&A's DEI and Community Committee completed the new UW DEI Rubric, a tool used to review and access the effectiveness of DEI efforts, initiatives, strategies as well as existing policies, practices, and written materials across the University. See how A&A scores now and next steps.

  • DEI and Community Committee: A&A's DEI and Community Committee meets bi-monthly to discuss initiatives and communications for the A&A community to deepen their understanding of key issues to advance the department's collective understanding of and commitment to DEI. Contact: aa-dei@uw.edu
  • WA Space Grant: A&A is now home to NASA's Washington State's Space Grant Consortium with programs to expand STEM pathways to students from underrepresented communities. Research fellowships, scholarships, and activities participating in NASA's Artemis Challenges, CubeSats, and more are available.
  • A&A's DEI Dialogues: Our monthly discussion series with short suggested readings or other media.

A&A's student organizations with a focus on diversity

 

Training opportunities

Anti-Racism and creating a welcoming environment for all
As we strive to build an inclusive and equitable environment for learning, research, service and outreach we ask you to review and reflect on these instances and consider the role you can play in creating a welcoming environment for all. Learn more here: Anti-Racism and creating a welcoming environment for all | UW College of Engineering (washington.edu)

Hazing prevention (required for UW employees)
All employees at the University of Washington, including student employees, are required to report hazing if, as a result of observations or information received in the course of employment or volunteer service, any employee has reasonable cause to believe that hazing has occurred.

“Reasonable cause” means a person who witnesses hazing or receives a credible written or oral report alleging hazing or a potential or planned hazing activity. Watch training.

Title IX training (required course for UW employees)
Husky Prevention & Response is a foundational, required online prevention and response course about sex- and gender-based violence and harassment for staff, faculty, other academic personnel, and student employees.

Why must we diversify?

Diversity creates positive outcomes for innovation. We are looking at trends across national engineering programs, aerospace programs, and how A&A stacks up in comparison.

See our stats

UW programs and organizations for diversity in STEM

Office of minority affairs & diversity

The University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D) works to increase diversity on campus and enrich the collegiate experience of all UW students, faculty and staff.

GSEE

Graduate Student Equity and Excellence is at the heart of the Graduate School’s commitment to expanding graduate education to underrepresented minority (URM) communities.

Disability resources for students

Disability Resources for Students (DRS) is dedicated to ensuring access, accommodations, and inclusion for all students with temporary or permanent physical, health, learning, sensory or psychological differences.

Q Center

The University of Washington Q Center is a primarily student-run resource center dedicated to serving anyone with or without a gender or sexuality – UW students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members.

 

Scholarships, fellowships, & funding

There are many fellowships and scholarships specifically created to support access, persistence, and success for underrepresented communities in engineering.

 

Further reading on DEI and STEM

The College of Engineering has created a resource on "Anti-Racism and creating a welcoming environment for all" (UW NetID required) with invitations to reflect and consider the role each of us plays in creating a welcoming environment for all. The following list of resources is also helpful in understanding DEI in the context of STEM: