ADEI Statement

The Department of Molecular Biology celebrates diversity and embraces evidence-based practices to promote inclusivity in our classes and labs. Antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical values that inform our efforts to make all students feel welcome and supported within our discipline. These values are also integral to the practice of science, leading to greater innovation.

We also recognize that power in the discipline of Molecular Biology has, from its beginning, been held by individuals identifying as white and male, and has been limited by a dearth of diverse perspectives. Furthermore, research in our discipline has exploited marginalized and vulnerable groups. As a department, we strive to openly teach the honest history of our discipline and use biology itself to promote antiracism. We recognize that race is a social construct that is not supported by genetic evidence, and we denounce how race has been used as a proxy for genetic difference.

One purpose of a statement like this is to clarify our values as a department and hold ourselves accountable to them. We treat this as a living document that is continually updated, including with input from student voices.

Land Acknowledgement

The Department of Molecular Biology recognizes the connection between our spaces for learning and research and the broader context of the land that Colorado College occupies. Our department is located in the unceded territory of the Ute Peoples. Early documented peoples that occupied this land include the Apache, Arapaho, Comanche, and Cheyenne. Many other tribes have also occupied this space. A list of tribes and further information can be found on the Colorado College Indigenous Community web page. The purpose of this land acknowledgment is both to combat erasure of these facts, as well as to express gratitude for the long history of stewardship of these lands by Indigenous peoples.