Equity and Inclusion

KIPAC is committed to being a place where all of its members have the opportunity to do their best work, and strives to support efforts to diversify the profession through its hiring practices, through training and mentoring diverse groups of students and postdocs, and through bringing the excitement of science to diverse audiences.

In 2021, the KIPAC community developed a Statement of Values and Code of Conduct, which we ask all members, visitors, and participants in our activities to agree to follow. KIPAC Senior Members Susan Clark and Kimmy Wu currently co-chair the KIPAC E&I Lab, which helps nucleate and support community-driven efforts to build a more inclusive community.  Examples of current and previous efforts that have come out of this are the Women+ community at KIPAC, outreach to Spanish speaking high school students, and task forces on policies, mentoring, and mental health.

KIPAC members are also deeply engaged in the equity and inclusion efforts of the broader physics community, and in related issues at SLAC. The Physics Department has an E&I committee and an E&I strategic plan and many KIPAC members have led activities through this committee. The committee's activities include educational seminars and regular discussion of E&I topics through a reading group, programs to recruit undergraduates and graduate students with diverse backgrounds and identities, and several activities focused on broadening participation in physics and astronomy at all career stages.  KIPAC members are also involved in the APS IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance) effort, a cross-institutional effort to share and learn effective practices for inclusion and equity.

KIPAC members also participate in a range of outreach activities including those that focus on underresourced communities and seek to broaden participation in science. Recent efforts have included the SPINWIP program for high school girls, and additional efforts to engage with local schools.

KIPAC management also welcomes feedback on anything we can do to make KIPAC an inclusive working environment for all or that KIPAC can do as a catalyst for a more equitable community (e.g. by sending email to director@kipac.stanford.edu).