DEI Committee

The Institute has a standing committee whose charge is to oversee all issues involving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). We emphasize that optimizing our culture around the dimensions of DEI is the responsibility of everyone in our community. With that in mind, the most important service we can provide is to encourage open and transparent dialog around DEI issues.

Contact Us

We maintain here a suggestion form for collecting your advice. All suggestions are welcome, and might range from ideas about policy changes we should consider to advice about how we can communicate better with each other.

If you wish to discuss your suggestion in person, please contact Tal Haring, Strategic Analyst for the Institute, by email at tal.haring@rochester.edu. Tal will direct you to the best person with whom to discuss your idea.

DEI Committee Members

The committee is itself diverse by design with faculty, staff, and student participation.

Headshot of David Williams.

David R. Williams, DEI committee Chair and William G. Allyn Professor of Medical Optics

Headshot of Tal Haring.

Tal Haring, Institute Strategic Analyst and Staff Liaison to the DEI committee

Headshot of Julie Bentley.

Julie Bentley, Professor of Optics

Headshot of Jaime Cardenas.

Jaime Cardenas, Assistant Professor of Optics

Headshot of Xi Cheng Zhang.

Xi-Cheng Zhang, M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics

Headshot of Demetrious Dowdell.

Demetrious Dowdell, PhD Candidate, Graduate Student Liaison

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Rebecca Swertfeger, PhD Candidate, Graduate Student Liaison

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TBD, Undergraduate Student Liaison