Contact: George Liles 508 495-2378 MA06.07 August 4, 2006 NEFSC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center

M E D I A  A D V I S O R Y

Got Diversity?
Woods Hole Institutions To Observe
“Diversity Day” with Talks and Street Fair

Six science and education institutions in Woods Hole are sponsoring talks and a street fair August 10 to address the issue of diversity in the Woods Hole scientific community. The Diversity Day observance, titled “Got Diversity?”, begins with a 3 p.m. talk by Thomas Windham in the Lillie Auditorium on the MBL campus. Windham’s talk will be followed by a panel discussion at 4 p.m. and a street fair at 5 p.m. with live music, food, and displays. All events are free and open to the public.

The diversity observances mark the second anniversary of the 2004 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, in which leaders of the six institutions affirmed the importance of diversity and committed their institutions to creating “pathways of opportunity” to attract people from under-represented groups to work and study in Woods Hole.

The six institutions are the Marine Biological Laboratory, the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Sea Education Association, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Woods Hole Research Center.

Windham is the Senior Advisor for the National Science Foundation’s Science and Engineering Workforce. His talk is titled “Ensuring our National Competitiveness and Security: Diversity, Inclusion, Empowerment.”

The panel discussion that follows will include scientists, students, and other employees from the six sponsoring institutions. The panelists will discuss their own lives and careers and give their thoughts on whether Woods Hole is a welcoming community and what obstacles to diversity exist in the local science community.

The street fair will be held in front of Lillie Auditorium on MBL Street, and will include music by “Banda da Ipanema”, light refreshments, and prizes donated by Woods Hole merchants. The displays will include information about the work of the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, a multi-institutional group that advises the Woods Hole institution on strategies for becoming a more diverse community.