Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Statement

The Program in Forensic Anthropology is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and justice through our scholarship, teaching, mentorship, and professional service.

This commitment includes:

  1. Recognizing that biological and forensic anthropology have a basis in colonialism, white supremacy, and social Darwinism, were partially built on the anatomization of marginalized individuals and reified the biological race concept through typological studies of human variation.
  2. Striving to counter harmful historical effects through ethical research, antiracist pedagogical and research practices, advocacy for historically excluded groups, and by fostering an inclusive community that values varied and intersecting identities, lived experiences, and perspectives.
  3. Creating diversity in race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, sex, sexuality, religion, age, and ability, among others, that will result in improved learning outcomes, impactful collaborations, and robust and rigorous research.
  4. Recruiting a diverse student body, cultivate a culture of belonging among faculty and students and ensure student success through proactive mentorship and advising.
  5. Rejecting the biological race concept and understand that racism can result in negative health outcomes through the embodiment of structural inequities, as highlighted by the American Association of Biological Anthropologist’s Statement on Race and Racism.

This is a living statement that will evolve over time with input and guidance from faculty, staff and students.

Created – October 27th, 2022
Last Edited – Nov 2nd, 2022