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Massimo Ruzzene

The Research and Innovation Office (RIO) has embraced a commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion to ensure our contributions are representative of the world we seek to shape. As vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the 12 research institutes, I’m excited to share some of my thoughts and some of the actions we are taking to embrace innovation, equity and inclusion as foundational principles as we strive to produce truly impactful scholarship.

How and why do diverse and inclusive perspectives add value to research and innovation? We know that innovation thrives at the intersections of ideas, disciplines and perspectives. When we tap into talent and ideas that have not yet been considered, and when we are with people who are different from us, we bring our best selves and we spark innovation. Action inspired by ideas discovered in these exciting spaces advances the enterprise, which further deepens our commitment to diverse and inclusive approaches as the cycle repeats.

By committing to this cycle, we are already making headway. In just the last six months:

• Tanya Ennis joined our team as director of diversity, equity and inclusion in research, creative work and innovation in October. Tanya is supporting our focus on employee skills and development and initiatives that address inequalities in staff recruitment outcomes. She is also providing welcome support to our research institutes as they pursue similar goals.
• Tanya is leading RIO’s efforts to monitor federal agency requirements related to the integration of diversity, equity and inclusion principles and activities into research programs and broader impact initiatives. We will develop strategies to support faculty across campus, enabling streamlined, competitive responses to funding opportunities offered by entities that fund much of ��ƷSM����ӰƬ’s research and creative work.
• RIO was awarded a DEI Impact Grant by the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for “Building a Scholar Learning Community at ��ƷSM����ӰƬ” to educate scholars, researchers, innovators and creators about: the process of finding justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (JEDIA) funding resources; understanding related agency requirements for plans in proposal development; and developing strong plans and responses to these requirements. A workshop series is being offered to individuals across the university who are interested in pursuing JEDIA funding opportunities.

As for how this work is benefitting campus, we are already seeing positive outcomes like these:

• Our campus’ capacity is growing by strengthening and expanding connections between programs like the Center for African and African American Studies, the and the Center for Asian Studies, and research institutes and other hubs of research, scholarship, innovation and creative work that are seeking more innovative approaches. 
• Ankur Gupta and Maryam Shakiba of the College of Engineering and Applied Science are working with the Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement to engage with first-generation, low-income precollege students in active learning in their fields to promote broadening participation, funded by NSF CAREER awards. We would like to expand this model to academic areas including the social sciences, the arts, the humanities, education and more.
• Rachael Baiduc of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, sought to engage with members of the Black community to learn about the effects of high blood pressure on hearing loss. Ennis and other RIO colleagues are providing references and contacts through social networks to facilitate this work.

Successes like these are just the beginning, and we learn more each day about opportunities to respond better to existing needs, apply the innovative spirit with which we approach the rest of our work, and explore innovative approaches to increase inclusion and diversity as part of our creative work. 

We look forward to working together to increase the impact of our RIO team, and to the entire campus, through a virtuous cycle of inclusive innovation.

Massimo Ruzzene
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Institutes