Although February only has 28 days, there are several exciting events happening that can connect you with your peers, from participating in the Dean’s Cup Challenge to attending Pratt Night at the Co-lab. Even with so many options, however, I’d like to add one specific item to your to-do list—the Annual Pratt DEIC Community Update Event, which well be held via Zoom on February 27 at 2 pm. During this event, members of the DEIC leadership team and committee will provide an overview of our 2022 DEIC efforts, and give you a glimpse of what we have planned for 2023. I hope you will be able to attend, and I happily look forward to connecting with you at a future event. 

Best,
Karis

Karis Boyd-Sinkler
Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Engineering

The Pratt School of Engineering and the Nicholas School of the Environment will be cohosting a Racial Equity Learning Arc workshop series faciliated by The Equity Paradigm. The virtual six-session series will allow participants to explore structural racism and how it manifests in a variety of situations and experiences. The workshop series will take place over a series of Fridays from 1-3 pm.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out this Qualtrics form »

CEE Professor David Schaad recently led a group of Duke Engineering students on a trip to the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Follow their journey by rail and hear from Schaad and first-year CEE student Lily Jarosz how the journey helped the group embrace the past to identify how we can move forward into a more just and equitable future.

On March 4, the Duke Optical Student Club (DOSC) is hosting Lasers, Lenses, and Light (LLL) day! This is a big open house where we invite grade school students from around Durham to the Fitzpatrick Building to learn about optics and light science.

We need more volunteers—sign up here if you're interested in running one of our demos, building a demo of your own or giving a lab tour. Free t-shirts and pizza will be provided to all volunteers.

The Emily Krzyzewski Center is looking for subject area tutors for their Scholars to College Program. The Scholars to College Program is a free, cohort-model college readiness program that is designed to assist ambitious, academically-focused, and underrepresented first-generation students from Durham County and prepare them for success at selective four-year colleges and universities.

The time commitment is generally one hour per week during after-school or early evening hours, depending on student schedules. Anyone interested in serving as a volunteer subject area tutor should contact scholarstocollege@emilyk.org along with a copy of your resume.

Xavier Larkin (he/him/his) is a Morehouse College alumni and new program coordinator in biomedical engineering and the Duke Center for Quantitative Biodesign. Before coming to Duke, Xavier was at Texas State University working on his master’s degree in communication studies. During football season, you can find Xavier cheering on his favorite college football team, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide!

The vision of the Maclin Fund is that no eligible Pratt School of Engineering undergraduate should miss out on educational growth because of costs not covered by financial aid. Costs such as attending a conference, flying to an interview, taking a workshop or repairing a computer—to name only a few. The fund was created through the generosity of Valecia Maclin E’92. Visit pratt.duke.edu for more information and to apply »

The WIN Empowerment Fund was created through the generosity of the Pratt School of Engineering group within the Duke Women's Impact Network (WIN), whose mission is to encourage leadership and philanthropy among women and the friends of WIN. The WIN Empowerment Fund makes direct and positive impacts on the lives of financial-aid-receiving students by helping meet those expenses—such as graduate exam and application fees or professional attire. For more information and to apply, please visit pratt.duke.edu »

February 20 | 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Zoom

We will be engaging in a virtual interactive workshop on non-traditional arts and creative writing-based strategies for exploring and implementing DEI practices. There will be exercises focused on helping us navigate sensitive topics and interpersonal or group conflicts.

Please register to attend »

See more at pratt.duke.edu/about/diversity/resources#events

Monday, February 13
5:30 pm | Washington Duke Inn

If you are interested in attending, please contact pratt_diversity@duke.edu.

Thursday, February 23
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm | Co-Lab

Hosted by Pratt Events

Monday, February 27
2:00 pm | Zoom

Hosted by Pratt DEIC. Invitation to come.

Wednesday, March 8
8:30 am - 1:00 pm | Penn Pavilion

Hosted by the Duke Women’s Center

Highlighted below is a non-exhaustive list of holidays, celebrations, and events. Would you like to have a holiday listed? Please contact us with your suggestion!

Month-long observance that recognizes the history, achievements and contributions of African Americans. Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and history sets a theme for the month. This year’s theme is Black Resistance.

A day to commemorate people around the world reading aloud together and advocate for literacy as a human right

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 as a way to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as change agents

Acknowledges the circumstances surrounding social injustice throughout the world and the need for improved solutions

Director of Diversity & Inclusion in Engineering

karis.boydsinkler@duke.edu

office hours

Members of the Pratt DEIC committee are listed at pratt.duke.edu/about/diversity/deic