Fun at DuckOUT

Lisa and Kenyon joined the greater UO LGBT+ community for the return of DuckOUT. We are looking forward to another meet up with members of the community outside of the sciences. Hopefully we’ll also see some of you on Monday at our first happy hour of spring term!

LGBT+ in STEM Monday at 6:30 at Elkhorn Brewery.

Q&A session & seminar with out NASA Astronaut Wendy Lawrence – Friday, March 16

Friday, March 16th, UOWGS will be hosting Astronaut Wendy Lawrence, a retired NASA Astronaut with degrees in ocean engineering from the US Naval Academy (B.S.) and MIT (M.S.). Not only is Astronaut Lawrence a woman in science (and a freaking astronaut!) but she is also an out lesbian, whose experiences traverse the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regime in the military and the sciences.
Astronaut Lawrence will be giving a talk titled “The International Space Station: Science in Space” from 2:30 – 3:30 in Straub 156WGS and LGBT+ in STEM members are invited to attend a smaller sized Q & A session with Astronaut Lawrence from 4 – 5 PM the same day, held in room B040 in the Allen Price Science Library. See attached flyer for more information. Please email us if you have any questions!
We hope to see you at the seminar and/or the Q&A session!
[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/lgbtinstem/files/2018/03/2018_03_16_Astronaut_Lawrence_QA-25d8vvj.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

Event Dates to Know

LGBT+ in STEM Social Hours

Monday, April 2 at 6:30 pm at Elk Horn Brewery
Wednesday, May 2 at 6:30 pm at Planktown Brewery

 

Other events

DuckOUT: LGBTQIA+ Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Mixer
Friday, March 30th from 4:45 pm – 6:30 pm at Falling Sky Pizzeria (EMU)
(Hosted by DEI & CoDAC)

Nominations open for leadership board 2018

 

LGBT+ in STEM is looking to fill a position on the Leadership Board. Our leadership board runs as an ad-hoc committee of 4 people. We meet about once a month to plan upcoming social events or educational events and discuss current issues at the cross-section of the LGBT+ community and the sciences.

What: Seeking nominations for a vacant seat on the leadership board
Who: Any graduate student, faculty, or staff in the sciences who identifies as LGBT+
Nominations can be peer or self nominated
When: Nominations are open from January 12 until 5 pm on January 26, 2018.

Nominees will be contacted by the board and asked to submit a few sentences about what you would bring to the board/LGBT+ in STEM organization and why you would like to be involved.

Questions? Email uo.lgbtinstem@gmail.com

Winter 2018 Events

LGBT+ in STEM Social Hour for queer graduate students, faculty, and staff in the sciences
January 22 at 6:30 pm at Sam Bond’s Brewery (540 E 8th Ave)

Allies and LGBT+ in STEM Social Hour
Allies are encouraged to attend this social hour event to help foster inclusive environments and show support for their queer colleagues in the sciences.
February 22 at 7:30 pm at Falling Sky EMU

UO LGBT+ in STEM

We created this organization after seeing a gap in the diversity movement at the University of Oregon. Historically, the sciences struggle with diversity, period. All fields struggle with gender and cultural diversity, and within that, there is more “invisible” group: the LGBT+ population. A 2015 study showed that most LGBT+ researchers in the physical and life sciences are open about their sexuality to their friends and family but not to their colleagues at work.1

We, the founders of LGBT+ in STEM, came together as out individuals in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to promote change at the University of Oregon. Nobody should have to hide who they are at work or at home, and we believe that young scientists need to see themselves in their field of interest in order to continue forward. Sexuality and gender identity cannot be “seen” unless one chooses to be open about it. We aim to create a culture of openness and support in the STEM fields at the University of Oregon. We also understand that science researchers and academics face unique workplace environments, where social and professional lives are entertwined, which is why we created a group specific for graduate students, faculty, and staff in the sciences. It is our goal to share our experiences with others to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all and future generations to come.

 

Our Mission:

UO LGBT+ in STEM aims to create a community for LGBT+ people in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, while providing education around LGBT+ issues for all people in the STEM fields. By increasing the visibility of queer identifying people in the STEM fields, we aim to demonstrate the benefits of diversity in the sciences.2 We aim to provide safe spaces for all peoples through monthly meet-ups of LGBT+ graduate students, faculty, and staff and through educational seminars about LGBT issues in the sciences.

 

Please note: We understand that by attending our events, you may inadvertently “out” yourself. All of our events are safe spaces and confidential, however, we plan to offer all-inclusive events for everyone once a term to provide a place for allies, questioning, or not out people to meet and support their queer colleagues.