Initiatives

Building on a collaborative program between OEB and Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School established in 2007, the Emerging Scientists Program connects Cambridge and Boston high school students with Harvard researchers. The program's goal is to provide meaningful and accessible life sciences research experiences to area high school students. Each fall, the program hosts Evolution Day tours, which have brought more than 200 students into faculty research labs and museum collections.

Students who are excited about research may move on to the High School Internship Program in the spring, where they are mentored by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and staff during a semester-long internship during school hours. 

Recruitment for Evolution Day begins in August and for internship research mentors in October. Please contact Program Manager Ognenka Avramovska to get involved.

The Indigenous Community Partnerships and Data Sovereignty Group was started to address the reality that much of the research in OEB occurs on Indigenous lands, often without community consultation. The initiative aims to foster respectful, reciprocal partnerships with these communities, promote Indigenous Data Sovereignty, honor Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and work to redress historical inequities.

The group is currently surveying the department to establish a baseline for its work and planning for future programming. To get involved, please contact Azzo Seguin.   You can also explore resources such as this recommended paper and the Native Land map.
 

The LGBTQIA+Friends group builds community across OEB and HEB through monthly socials and an active WhatsApp channel, with plans to expand programming into faculty panels and a book club). To get involved, interested individuals can look for event announcements in department-wide emails or attend a social to be added to the group's WhatsApp channel.
 

Annual seminar featuring speakers invited by the DIB committee. Previous speakers include: Christopher Donohue, Historian, National Human Genome Research Institute of History of Genomics Program, National Institutes of Health; Donna Garcia, Professor, Department of Psychology, California State University, San Bernardino; and Leke Hutchins, Kanaka 'Ōiwi Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University.

Launched in May 2025, the Community Newsletter fosters closer connections by showcasing community members' work and personal accomplishments. All are welcome to contribute via the official submission Google Form.

The Departmental Slack Channel was created in response to community discussions concerning the need for a communication platform beyond email. The Slack channel's mission is to serve as a central hub for collaboration, creativity, and connection across the department. The channel continues to grow, with more active members joining regularly, and looks forward to welcoming new community members. Everyone is encouraged to join the channel and use the platform for practical needs, like organizing events or looking for lab tools.

Launched in 2020, the Monthly Tea Hour provides a casual, welcoming space to discuss diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Over the last four years, it has evolved into a more structured forum where the DIB committee shares updates and gathers community feedback. All are welcome to join by attending the tea hour and bringing ideas or initiatives they are passionate about to share.

OEB was awarded FAS Community Renewal funding for a scientific retreat in 2022. Planning began in earnest in 2024 due to a groundswell of support from students, postdocs, and faculty eager to foster community through informal scientific discussion. The highly successful inaugural event drew 120 attendees and earned universally positive feedback for allowing participants to connect in a new environment and format. Building on this success, the initiative now seeks to integrate the community-building "spirit" of the retreat into smaller, on-campus activities such as hikes, iNaturalist competitions, and food crawls.

The OEB Postdoc Buddy Program, launched in April 2024 in response to a postdoc town hall suggestion, helps new postdocs navigate their first few months on campus by pairing them with established colleagues. To foster these connections, the department hosts a welcome lunch for each new postdoc and their “buddy.”
 

In 2022 the DIB committee launched the OEB Space Survey to assess whether community members felt socially, emotionally and physically comfortable in departmental spaces. Thoughtful feedback led to immediate actions such as removing artwork and renaming some rooms and it continues to inform long-term renovation plans for OEB, MCZ, and HUH facilities.