Accessibility, Belonging & Community

The diversity of the natural world reminds us to nurture our community. The Emory Department of Biology values creativity, curiosity, and impactful research and teaching, and our community strives to foster these traits. We are committed to the professional development of faculty, staff, and students of all backgrounds. We believe in ongoing dialogue with community members to evaluate and revise policies, fostering an environment where everyone can reach for their own success.

Atlanta has a long, proud history of civil rights. Emory University and the Department of Biology are aligning with the long history and traditions embracing accessibility, belonging and community while examining our policies and practices.

Explore the links below to learn about how we support all members of our community.

Biology faculty lead a number of initiatives to support students of all backgrounds both within and beyond the classroom.

These initiatives include the development of housing/learning communities through the Biology & Chemistry Cohort's Undergraduate Research and Mentorship Hall. The University has a general education requirement on race and ethnicity.

To foster the scientific development of all undergraduates, Emory provides opportunities for students to conduct research through numerous programs. More than 50% of Biology majors conduct research for credit through the Biology Research for Credit program and by conducting seniors honors research. Almost 80% of majors conduct laboratory research through diverse avenues during their undergraduate careers. For example, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program covers 10-weeks of campus boarding and stipend for both Emory and non-Emory undergraduate students. Importantly, students eligible for work-study are often paid to conduct research, facilitating the participation of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in scientific research.

Our graduate programs, run through the Laney Graduate School and the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS) support the training of students from all backgrounds, with excellent financial support, including health insurance. The nature of the interdisciplinary graduate programs means that Biology faculty participate with colleagues across the School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute, Rollins School of Public Health and others to train graduate students. Our highly integrated graduate program facilitates close interactions between faculty working in diverse research areas that span from basic to clinical research areas. Stipend supports comfortable living in the immediate university area and facilitates the inclusion of students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Students are guaranteed financial support. Students are initially financially supported through the Laney Graduate School, after which they are supported by institutional training grants, their own fellowships, faculty grants or departmental funds.

Students gain teaching experience through the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity (TATTO) program and are paid for teaching endeavors (on top of their stipend) after they have satisfied their TATTO requirement of teaching one class.

Students are formally mentored in many aspects of science, including formal coursework in scientific and grant writing, and many submit extramural funding applications. Emory is consistently among the top three institutions awarded NIH F31 pre-doctoral grants. Emory students are also successful when applying for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

In addition to a competitive start-up package, moving expenses, and access tounparalleled administrative and facilities staff, our untenured junior faculty aresupported through 1) a formal mentoring committee that includes two researchmentors and one teaching mentor; 2) one year of teaching relief when entering, aswell as a fourth-year sabbatical from teaching; 3) tenure extensions for qualifyingexperiences (Appointment and Promotion).

Emory University is committed to excellence in both research and teaching andfaculty at Emory are urged to collaborate with those at other nearby institutions,including Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman Collegeand Morehouse College. The University also routinely offers internal grantopportunities designed to foster collaboration within the university and to supportthe generation of preliminary data to make for stronger extramural grantproposals.

Emory College of Arts and Science is committed to safe and supportive culture thatallows faculty from all walks of life to thrive. The Emory Biology Department isdedicated to strengthening opportunities for our indispensable staff who arerespected as colleagues.

Our Teaching-Track Faculty are supported through 1) a formal mentoringcommittee that includes one Tenure-Track Faculty (TTF) member and one Teaching-TrackFaculty member; 2) equal standing with Tenure-Track Faculty within the Department andCollege for all voting, committees, and positions with the exception of votes ontenure and promotion of Tenure-Track Faculty; 3) internal funding opportunities forclassroom initiatives, professional development, and research; 4) job security with 3-,5-, or 7-year contracts; 5) clearly defined promotion criteria from Assistant TeachingProfessor to Associate Teaching Professor to Teaching Professor; 6) opportunities toapply for sabbatical leave; 7) opportunities to join support groups at Emory.