School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences

Last autumn, SAFS completed its first ever DEI Assessment, which highlighted key areas for SAFS to concentrate its future efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since that time, the Diversity Specialist and members of the Equity and Inclusion (EI) Committee have used the recommendations of the DEI Assessment and feedback from the SAFS community to draft the latest iteration of the SAFS EI Strategic Plan. The plan lays out six goals for SAFS:

1. Attract, retain, and support students from diverse communities and backgrounds.
2. Attract, retain, and support faculty, staff, and postdocs from diverse communities and backgrounds.
3. Develop community competency in knowledge and skills connected to equity and inclusion.
4. Implement best practices to create and maintain the safety, heath, and wellbeing of members of SAFS.
5. Create and implement equitable practices with clear and consistent policy.
6. Establish and improve non-extractive relationships with Indigenous groups and communities of color with whom SAFS works and conducts research.

These goals align with the professional recommendations laid out in last year’s DEI Assessment and the latest UW Diversity Blueprint. Additionally, each of the goals aligns with at least one of the themes that emerged from community discussions last year: community, communication, and consistency. The first two goals directly address our responsibility to our people, goals three through five address our policies and practices, and the final goal addresses our connection to the communities around us.

We envision a future in which SAFS supports and celebrates a diverse, vibrant scientific community; actively advances equity with clear and consistent policy; and is deeply interconnected with other organizations, communities, and institutions who are connected to the work we do. The DEI Strategic Plan will guide the EI Committee in its work to advance equity and achieve this vision.

The EI Committee is grateful to the members of SAFS who participated in any part of the community feedback process, whether speaking up in discussion sessions last autumn or winter or leaving comments on the draft this past spring, summer, or autumn. In the coming months, SAFS will engage its community in determining how to take action to achieve these goals. This plan is a living document and will be updated as we experiment and adapt.

The full text of the DEI Strategic Plan will be available on the SAFS website, where you can read more about the planning process, goals, and strategies.