Institute of Diversity Sciences

Sophia is a first-generation college student and transfer to UMass Amherst who found community, confidence, and career-building skills through IDS’ *Negotiation for Career Success* program.

“This program has truly helped students like me build confidence and connections that last beyond the classroom… I feel much more confident moving forward in my career.” — Sophia

During this year’s UMassGives (April 29–30) a gift to IDS will help support more students like Sophia, expanding access to mentorship, hands-on learning, and the tools needed to navigate college and beyond. 💛

Read about Sophia’s journey: https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/news/learning-see-system

Make a gift today or tomorrow! https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/111342

UMassGives is tomorrow! 💛

At a time when equity and inclusion efforts are facing uncertainty and politicization, your support matters more than ever. The Institute of Diversity Sciences is creating opportunities for students to engage in meaningful STEM research that tackles real-world issues—from health to environmental justice. Help us keep this work going. Donate April 29–30.

https://umass.scalefunder.com/gday/giving-day/111216/department/111342

Honoring Dr. Marie Maynard Daly this Women’s History Month.

Her groundbreaking research shaped our understanding of heart health, and her advocacy helped open doors for future scientists.

When students and faculty come together around socially relevant questions, powerful things happen. IDS Seed Grant recipients open up about finding their path and learning how to make an impact through research.
Their reflections are live on our website.
https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/news/impactful-research-thriving-researchers

Water contamination isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a social one.

IDS-funded researchers are mapping exposure to PFAS (forever chemicals that don’t break down easily) across Massachusetts to help shape a policy that protects the most vulnerable.

Meet the students, scientists, and discoveries behind this work.

Read the full story on our site.


https://www.umass.edu/diversitysciences/news/who-bears-cost-water-pollution

We are hiring a Business & Operations Manager to help lead finance, operations, and administration for our small, collaborative team. We’re looking for someone organized, detail-oriented, and experienced with budgeting, financial processes, and administrative coordination.

Do you know anyone who has finance and operations experience and is looking for a new job opportunity? Please share this ad with them. We're hoping to move quickly to review and interview applicants.

Business & Operations Manager - Institute of Diversity Sciences - Amherst, Massachusetts, United States Title: Business & Operations Manager - Institute of Diversity Sciences Executive Area: Academic Affairs College/School/MBU: College of Natural Sciences Department: Dean - Natural Sciences Work Location: Amherst Schedule: Full time Work Arrangement: Hybrid Job Summary The Business and Operations....

On Friday, February 6, IDS co-hosted a Computational Diversity Science Mixer with the Computational Social Science Institute (CSSI), bringing together researchers interested in the intersection of diversity science and computational methods. IDS focuses on connecting science and engineering to social issues, while CSSI focuses on using new computational approaches to address those same challenges. Together, the presentations highlighted how interdisciplinary approaches can advance equity-focused research across campus.

Andrew Cohen (Psychological & Brain Sciences) presented research on eyewitness identification and race, demonstrating how behavioral data and modeling can help evaluate lineup fairness and reduce wrongful convictions.

Qian Zhao PhD (Mathematics & Statistics) shared statistical approaches to measuring food insecurity, combining survey, geographic, and retail data to better understand community-level risk.

Join us for our Computational Diversity Science Mixer in collaboration with the Computational Social Science Institute, this Friday! We look forward to seeing you there.

On November 19, students in MGMT 390N: Negotiation participated in an engaging, hands-on workshop with Craig Santos, Senior Director of Training Services & Education at MathWorks.

The course emphasizes learning by doing, and Craig’s visit gave students the chance to practice real negotiation scenarios in a supportive setting. After sharing insights from his own career, Craig led the class through live role-play negotiations. He acted as the ‘manager’ while students practiced discussing role expectations, workload, and compensation.

This activity helped students understand how managers evaluate requests and proposals, practice conversations about compensation, ask questions about expectations and constraints, and have clear communication.

We are grateful to Craig for sharing his time and expertise, and to the MGMT 390N teaching team - Hannah Riley Bowles, Courtney Hart, Shan Sherwan Hussein, and Joshua Luker — for creating such a meaningful learning opportunity for our students.

We are proud to celebrate our founder and director, Buju Dasgupta, following her inspiring visit to Lafayette College last week.

Faculty, students, and staff across disciplines at Lafayette are putting Buju’s research into practice, integrating evidence-based strategies from her work into student programs that advance inclusion in STEM.

We are thrilled to see her connecting and spreading our mission to new communities!