Diversity and Belonging
The McCormick Lab is located at Dalhousie University, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. Mi’kma’ki is also home to a 400-year-old African Nova Scotian community that has been recognized as a founding culture. Both groups continue to experience profound structural, systemic, and individual discrimination. Dalhousie University’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) work acknowledges historical injustices faced by Indigenous and African Nova Scotian people, and their Strategic Plan: Third Century Promise highlights EDIA as a core value, while pledging commitment to achieving inclusive excellence. Specific to Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities, Dalhousie University has produced an Indigenous Advisory Strategic Report and the African Nova Scotian Strategic Report, and has established student recruitment Pathway Programs, as well as support services, resources, and opportunities for diverse students. Despite these important commitments, equity deserving groups including persons with disabilities, and Indigenous and African Nova Scotian people are underrepresented at the student and faculty level. We recognize the opportunity to participate and succeed in science is biased by identity and socioeconomic status and are committed to increasing equity and diversity in STEM.
Our principles
The McCormick Lab is dedicated to promoting a culture of belonging. We know that inclusive excellence is a feature of strong, productive research teams that benefit from diverse perspectives in problem-solving (an idea that is backed by good science), and we strive to conduct research that addresses the needs of diverse populations. We are committed to recruiting, mentoring and supporting diverse students and postdoctoral scholars. Lab members are encouraged to engage in science outreach activities to serve our communities and inspire the next generation of scientists.
We are dedicated to the following principles outlined in Dalhousie’s Strategic Plan: Third Century Promise:
o Academic freedom
o Commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and service
o Equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility
o Future-ready leaders
o Impactful community engagement
o Social responsibility and sustainability
o Wellness, accessibility, respect and support
Examples of Our Engagement
o We helped establish the Canadian Society for Virology EDI Task Force, which supports virus researchers across Canada, including academic, industry and government researchers
o We helped establish the first Soapbox Science event in Halifax. Soapbox Science is a public outreach platform for promoting women and non-binary scientists and the science they do. In these events, public areas are transformed into an arena for public learning and scientific debate.
o We helped to plan and deliver several science outreach events as part of the Institute for Comparative Genomics’ MicroScape youth outreach program in partnership with the Discovery Centre, Atlantic Canada’s largest science centre. These included events for International Biodiversity Day (May 22, 2024) and International Microorganism Day (Sept. 17, 2024). Because our MicroScape program has an ambitious plan to reach 3000 youth and more than 200 teachers through various outreach activities over the next 3 years, our trainees will have many more opportunities to volunteer and develop experiential learning activities for youth.