News

For more than a decade, the Aspire Awards have provided an occasion for faculty, staff and students to recognize undergraduate leaders in the College of Natural Sciences. The event celebrates undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in the sciences, recognizing their achievements in research, service and leadership. This year, 25 students were given Aspire awards in several categories. The event is a collaboration between the college's Office of Undergraduate Education and the student-led Black and Latinx Advocacy Council.

Dr. Shelley Payne and the other University of Texas at Austin Diversity and Inclusion Officers shared this message with the College of Natural Sciences in the wake of thousands of reported incidents nationwide targeting Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

For the first time at UT, student organizations and programs from across the College of Natural Sciences and Cockrell School of Engineering that focus on women in STEM fields are coming together in a formal group to extend support for leadership development in women in STEM. 

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which also falls during ​Black History Month. It's a great time to learn about women and Black leaders from The University of Texas at Austin and beyond who are making a difference and meet scientists and STEM leaders who are shaping science, computing and mathematics for years to come.

Kelly Wallace and Julia York, two graduate students studying Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, recently turned their attention from studying animals in the field to studying equity and inclusion in their own academic program. They teamed up on a recent paper to examine diversity and inclusion and develop a framework for other programs to evaluate their own efforts. The paper, "A systems change framework for evaluating academic equity and inclusion in an Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program," appeared in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

Dean Goldbart sent a message to all faculty, staff and students in the College of Natural Sciences about how the college, with guidance from a community-led Action Team, is moving forward to improve inclusion and equity in Texas Science, including for members of our community who are Black, indigenous or people of color.

​Dean Goldbart sent a message to the community after Interim President Jay Hartzell announced that the building once named for R.L. Moore would be renamed and that Painter Hall would soon have a new Heman M. Sweatt entrance.

A message from Dean Paul Goldbart to the College of Natural Sciences community underscores the need to stand in solidarity and support one another. This post was updated on Tuesday, June 2 to include a statement from the CNS Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

We in the College of Natural Sciences have launched World Changers, a new initiative that aims to celebrate a very special type of human in history: the scientist or mathematician who charted a path forward in which others could follow.