During this meeting, we broke into working groups to address initiatives of interest. Here are the output summaries from each working group:

DEI DISSEMINATION COMMITTEE. We came up with the idea of creating a Qualtrics survey for DEI questions, concerns, comments, and “wins” that undergrads or grad students and professors can use. We could go over questions in DEI meetings, and perhaps have an undergrad student be in charge of keeping tabs on the survey. We then discussed how to disseminate the survey, including encouraging professors to add the link to their syllabus in the DEI section of the syllabus, and potentially having DEI members speak in classes during the start of classes. We also talked about trying to have a presence on Instagram and potentially using Instagram stories to create a DEI Q & A. Responses to these could help show us the direction to go for future DEI work and get new students involved.

FUNDING COMMITTEE. We decided to request grant money to create a program for psychology students from under-represented groups. We would provide an orientation for new students so they know how to get involved in research, research labs, etc. We would also like to have regular meetings with these students, including speakers from other organizations on campus and a mentor/mentee program. We split the grant writing task into smaller goals, and each of us took responsibility for one of the goals.

ENGAGING UNDERGRADS COMMITTEE. We discussed ways to highlight opportunities in the Psych department on Instagram (e.g., posts about organizations, research tasks internships, highlight new available courses). We are hoping to do a series such as "Week in the Life of A Research Assistant" and highlight different labs and activities! Eventually we hope to work with the "Knowledge Drop" group to create informational content! 

We discussed the mixer (aka Lab Fair Extravaganza) and ways to incentivize participation from both faculty/grad students and undergraduate students! This may be in collaboration with the Funding team (e.g., provide Starbucks gift cards for attending grad students)

ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE. On the heels of graduate interviews, we discussed a few issues, including fee reductions/waivers and admitted students day(s). We decided that we cannot make a formal recommendation to the department about these items until we have a better understanding of what other schools/departments do, so we are going to gather info on our benchmark institutions and go from there.

We also discussed the fact that a DEI post-admissions online survey was administered by Tamra the Monday after interview week. The survey inquiries about perceptions of DEI at the department/program level as well as the diversity of those who interviewed (and provide responses). These "baseline" data will be summarized at the next meeting.