About us

We have recently created a coalition of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and distinguished faculty, the Penn Interdisciplinary Network for Scientists Promoting Inclusion, Retention, and Equity (Penn INSPIRE). Since our inception in October 2020, we have recruited 22 Penn trainees to our executive board and 28 Penn Faculty to serve as advisors, both composed in majority by URMs. We have united with the intention of advocating for scientists and physicians historically marginalized and excluded in STEM across all degree and professional levels. We strive to integrate a network of JEDI initiatives supporting BIPOC-minded student and community groups at Penn and the greater Philadelphia area. Penn INSPIRE is also a proud member of the Philadelphia STEM Ecosystem spanning more than 500 local organizations which enables us to expand our reach to people from different sectors of STEM education. We were also invited to join the Steering Committee for the STEM Equity Collective which is specifically aimed at increasing the number of women, Black, and Latinx Philadelphia students going into STEM careers by 2030. We hope that through this proposal and ongoing efforts we will enact change locally and inspire change elsewhere.

Penn INSPIRE was established with the goals of:

  • Inspire a more inclusive and welcoming environment within the Penn community where scientists and physicians from diverse backgrounds continue to be celebrated and are provided with the tools and resources to attain positions at the highest levels of influence within the scientific enterprise.

  • Inspire the development of strategic partnerships to secure funding and recruitment for programs at Penn aimed at increasing diversity within the graduate and medical school, as well as the faculty level. 

  • Inspire the recruitment and retention of the next generation of scientists and scholars by promoting initiatives that highlight the efforts of Penn INSPIRE members and the general Penn community by establishing partnerships with news organizations within Penn and the greater Philadelphia area.