The mission of the GPC is to support and improve the lives of graduate students and postdocs in our department. This is approached in a number of ways, many of which are outlined on our events page. At once, however, there are issues in the field of chemistry and in our department that are more fundamental and need to be addressed more deliberately, namely diversity and mental health. The GPC is involved in a series of initiatives to approach these issues, as outlined below.

  • The field of chemistry, as well as our department, must acknowledge and confront its historic marginalization of various groups based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. The department has outlined its position and proposed initiatives with respect to these issues and has created a the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee to lead these efforts. The DEIB Committee is entirely independent from the GPC and the role of the GPC in these matters is to promote this organization. If you have ideas for how the GPC could better serve this aim please send us an email or else please contact our DEIB liaison to get involved in these initiatives.

  • The Anti-Racism Club at Harvard (ARCH) aims to: (1) educate members of our department on the experiences of underrepresented groups—primarily the Black experience—and on what anti-racism is and how to be an anti-racist; (2) empower the voices of underrepresented groups and their allies, and promote the celebration of our racial and ethnic cultural differences; and (3) enable members from our department to dismantle the racial inequities in our governance, practices, and behaviors and lead the scientific community to a diverse, inclusive, and tolerant place. ARCH is entirely independent from the GPC and the role of the GPC in these matters is to promote this organization. Additional resources and initiatives are available throughout the department and can be found here. If you have ideas for how the GPC could better serve these aims, please send us an email, or else please contact ARCH to get involved in these initiatives.

  • The Harvard Women in Chemistry (HWiC+) organization is “dedicated to addressing issues concerning the representation and quality of life of women in STEM fields, particularly chemistry.“ HWiC+ is entirely independent from the GPC and the role of the GPC in these matters is to promote this organization. If you have ideas for how the GPC could better serve this aim please send us an email or else please contact HWiC+ to get involved in these initiatives.

  • The field of chemistry, as well as our department, has long struggled with providing the resources and initiatives necessary to ensure the mental health and well-being of graduate students and postdocs. The GPC and the department want to address this. In addition to existing services available to all graduate students, the GPC is advancing a series of initiatives focused on encouraging a healthier environment and community within our department. These initiatives attempt to balance accountability with anonymity, and include:

    (1) Exit interviews for graduate students and postdocs

    (2) Internal evaluations for research groups and the department at large

    (3) Internal hotline for reporting unhealthy environments within the department

    (4) Third-party involvement to regularly summarize and disseminated this feedback within the department

    (5) Internal progress reports to track overall mental health and well-being from year-to-year

    If you have ideas for furthering these goals or would like to get involved, please send us an email.