Stanford’s Broader Impacts Resources

Related Links

Stanford’s existing programs, partners and resources can be helpful as you think through the “broader impacts” criteria for your NSF application.

Former Assistant Director of the Stanford Office of STEM Outreach (http://oso.stanford.edu/) Maiken Bruhis provides tips for addressing the Broader Impacts review criteria for NSF proposals. (9.5 minutes)

SCIENCE OUTREACH

  • LABSci: LABSci is a collaboration between Professor Andy Spakowitz’s Lab at Stanford University, and Kathy Ho’s classroom at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital School. Email Dr. Spakowitz. 
  • SPLASH: Splash is a program that brings students in grades 8-12 from everywhere to Stanford’s campus for a two-day learning extravaganza. Classes are taught by Stanford undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates.
  • FAST: FAST is a program in which Stanford University graduate students mentor Future Advancers of Science and Technology (FAST) toward achieving their goals of answering open questions in science and engineering clever solutions to problems in their society.
  • Office of STEM Outreach: Stanford’s Office of STEM Outreach (OSO) encourages and assists Stanford faculty and students to engage in science outreach targeted at our nation’s youth, school teachers, and general public that will increase their interest, understanding, and involvement in science, math, and engineering.Reporting to Stanford’s Dean of Research, the OSO helps faculty and students create outreach project ideas and proposals with which to share their research. We identify potential partners (both within Stanford as well as K-14 schools, nonprofits, science museums, etc.), assist with proposal development and project implementation, and maintain the OSO website to advertise what’s on offer. In addition, the OSO directs several programs and coordinates activities in which Stanford faculty and their students can participate, including:
    • An 8-week summer research fellowship program for science teachers
    • Connecting Stanford researchers with K-12 student groups
    • Helping student groups launch new outreach projects and programs

DIVERSITY

  • Stanford BIOAIMS: The Biomedical Association for the Interest of Minority Students (BioAIMS) is an inclusive organization that provides a welcoming home for all Biosciences students at Stanford to celebrate their identities–especially those that have traditionally been marginalized in academia.We actively build this community through cultural celebrations, peer support, and career development programming. To address the issues facing our communities, we engage in social justice advocacy and local outreach initiatives.

  • D-CORE: The Diversity Center of Representation and Empowerment, or D-CORE, provides a space where any member of the Stanford Medicine community interested in issues of inclusion and diversity can hold meetings or just hang out and study.

    • Can be reserved for events around diversity, equity, and inclusion, from group meetings to celebrations

    • Staff members from across the medical campus hold office hours at the D-CORE to invite conversation on any topic.

    • CAPS Connects @ D-CORE offers opportunities for Biosciences graduate students, Medical students, and PA students to meet with a counselor every Wednesday from 2:30 – 4:30 PM. This resource is intended to allow students at the med school to access short (30 minute) sessions directly on the med campus and without the potential for long wait times at CAPS at Vaden. The counselor is specially trained in issues of diversity, equity, & inclusion.

    • SARA Office Hours @ D-CORE is a way for Stanford affiliates on the med campus to learn more about SARA (the Office of Sexual Assault & Relationship Abuse Education and Response at Stanford). Students can get personal and/or group consultations on responding to sexual violence or relationship abuse, learn more about available resources, and request trainings.

  • DARE fellowship: The DARE (Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence) Doctoral Fellowship Program awards two-year fellowships to advanced doctoral students who want to investigate and prepare for academic careers and whose presence will help diversify the professoriate.

  • ADVANCE summer institute: The summer before a matriculating student’s first year offers an excellent opportunity to transition to graduate school without the usual whirlwind of activity that begins in the fall. Through ADVANCE we facilitate the participants’ smooth transition into their first year, laying the foundation for a successful and rewarding graduate experience. ADVANCE evolved from a BioAIMS program piloted in 2010.

  • SoLID Mentorship Program: The Solidarity, Leadership, Inclusion, Diversity (SoLID) Mentorship program connects Biosciences students with faculty who can provide additional mentorship to guide and support students on issues that may be largely outside of their research, such as advocacy, diversity and inclusion, academic activism, mental health and wellness, balancing social justice work and lab productivity, stereotype threat, microaggressions, impostor syndrome, unconscious bias, among others.

  • IDEAL Dashboard: Stanford’s IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access in a Learning Environment) initiative is one of three Presidential Initiatives in the university’s long-range vision. In May of 2019, they released the first iteration of their dashboard, which shows the diversity breakdown of the school’s major populations and schools. If you’re wondering, “Is Stanford doing a better job of recruiting diverse talent?” look here to view trends over the past ten years to see how your school or population is changing over time and how much we still have to grow.

  • Stanford Medicine Office of Graduate Education: The OGE, which administers the Biosciences program, has many specific programs targeted at fostering diverstity, equity, and inclusion. OGE staff members including Ayodele Thomas, Monica Devlin, Bryan Thomas, Samar Fahmy, and Miranda Stratton are partnered with BioAIMS and actively support our mission.

  • Stanford Medicine Office of Faculty Development and Diversity: This office oversees diversity efforts across the Stanford Medical Campus. Their website offers a number of useful links, especially this list of diversity resources for graduate students.

  • NeuWrite West’s Inequality in STEM blog series: This blog series presents a number of the most important studies into inequality in STEM—it’s a great place to start if you’re looking to arm yourself with data you can use the next time somebody asks whether inequality is still an issue and/or how we can address it.

  • Activity / Community Centers:

  • Diversity Works at Stanford: This website highlights diversity news and efforts across Stanford. Check out their resource directory, which is searchable by category and includes campus groups and offices serving a variety of student populations.

  • Graduate Student Council Diversity & Advocacy Committee (GSC DAC): The Diversity & Advocacy Committee works to support inclusion, openness and multiplicity within the Stanford community.

  • Stanford Graduate Diversity: This website highlights diversity efforts focusing on graduate students campus-wide.

FIRST GENERATION & LOW-INCOME STUDENTS

  • Stanford FLISSC: The First Generation and/or Low-Income Student Success Center (FLISSC) mission is to build a community and sense of belonging for FLI students and supporters in order to empower FLI students and raise awareness of class issues. We recognize the diversity of the FLI identity and perspective, and we seek to foster an open and respectful campus environment by advocating on behalf of the FLI community and facilitating cross-class dialogue.

LGBTQ+

  • Stanford oSTEM: The mission of oSTEM@Stanford is to educate and foster leadership among LGBTQA students in STEM fields by enriching their professional background, providing them with unique STEM experiences, affirming their identities, and addressing their individual needs.

  • Stanford Queer Student Resources: This website collects events, resources, and opportunities related to LGBTQ+ life at Stanford.

  • LGBTQ-Meds: As an activist and social organization, we are dedicated to raising awareness of queer health issues and promoting equal social and political rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. LGBTQ-Meds additionally serves as a support group, safe space, and social group for all medical students, graduate students, undergraduates, faculty and staff, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who are interested in queer health issues.

WOMEN

  • Women In Science & Engineering (WISE) Ventures: Stanford WISE Ventures serves as a catalyst connecting research, resources, and innovation to increase the success of women and advance equity in science, engineering, and mathematics fields, across the Stanford community.

  • Women’s Community Center: The WCC (Firetruck House first floor, near Tressider Union) exists to facilitate growth and engagement for Stanford students around issues of gender, equity, identity, and justice.

  • Association for Women in Science: Stanford students have access to a free membership!

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

  • Stanford Biosciences Student Association (SBSA): SBSA represents graduate students from biology-related fields in the School of Medicine, the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the School of Engineering.

  • Stanford Black Biosciences Organization (SBBO): SBBO seeks to build a community among Black bioscientists in the School of Medicine in conjunction with the greater Black community at Stanford.

  • Stanford University Postdoctoral Association (SURPAS): SURPAS is a volunteer advocacy forum with the aim of enhancing and enriching the experience of postdoctoral research fellows at Stanford. All Stanford postdocs are welcome to participate in our SURPAS events, committees, and council meetings.

  • Stanford Hermanas in STEM: Our main goal is to unite and build a community of support among Latina (female) graduate and postdoctoral scholars on campus.

  • SoLID Mentorship Program: The Solidarity, Leadership, Inclusion, Diversity (SoLID) Mentorship program connects Biosciences students with faculty who can provide additional mentorship to guide and support students on issues that may be largely outside of their research, such as advocacy, diversity and inclusion, academic activism, mental health and wellness, balancing social justice work and lab productivity, stereotype threat, microaggressions, impostor syndrome, unconscious bias, among others.

  • ADVANCE summer institute: The summer before a matriculating student’s first year offers an excellent opportunity to transition to graduate school without the usual whirlwind of activity that begins in the fall. Through ADVANCE we facilitate the participants’ smooth transition into their first year, laying the foundation for a successful and rewarding graduate experience. ADVANCE evolved from a BioAIMS program piloted in 2010.

  • Stanford SACNAS: We are the the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Chapter at Stanford. Our mission is to foster the success of underrepresented scientists in attaining advanced degrees, careers, and positions of leadership in STEM.

  • BioPeers: The Biosciences Peer Mentoring Program (BioPeers) provides free and private peer-to-peer support for the Biosciences graduate student community. BioPeers are graduate students in their second year or higher who have volunteered to help their peers cope with the feelings of stress, inadequacy, or uncertainty that are often experienced during graduate school. BioPeers are trained to provide nonjudgmental support through listening, informal counseling techniques, and campus and community referrals.

  • Stanford Graduate Student Council (GSC): The Graduate Student Council (GSC) serves Stanford’s graduate student population by representing student interests in University affairs, supporting graduate student organization, and providing community events for graduate students.

  • Stanford Native American Graduate Students (SNAGS): The diverse Native graduate and professional school student population has come to Stanford from a wide range of undergraduate institutions. Once here to pursue their masters, doctorate, professional degrees (or for a postdoctoral appointment) they span all seven schools: Business, Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences, Law, or Medicine.

  • NeuWrite West: NeuWrite West is a group of scientists interested in writing and writers interested in science, whose mission is to make neuroscience accessible to anyone curious about the brain. We pursue this mission by publishing scientific stories that everybody can engage with, regardless of their scientific expertise, and hosting workshops to teach other scientists how to communicate their work.

  • Stanford Science Penpals: Stanford Science Penpals connects 6th-12th graders across the U.S. to Stanford scientists. Our goal is to expose kids to diverse scientific careers, answer science questions, and share our love of science! Penpal exchanges start in September and end in June. We encourage graduate students and postdocs from all scientific disciplines to sign-up to be a penpal.