CRA-WP Renames the Grad Cohort for URMD Workshop

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We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in this renaming process. The community’s willingness to discuss, listen, and provide insightful feedback was essential to improving the process and outcome.

We’re pleased to announce the new name:

The Grad Cohort for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills – The IDEALS Workshop
(formerly Grad Cohort for URMD)

This process was truly a community effort that engaged and sought feedback from CRA-WP Board Members, Grad Cohort for URMD program leaders and executive steering committee members, past workshop participants and speakers, as well as CRA staff. In all, the survey was distributed to ~550 individuals.

The top choice of the community was the IDEALS Workshop, with many specifically stating the importance of having “Accessibility” in the name.

At the heart of this discussion and proposed change, the intention has been to listen to and capture the perspectives and preferences of our community, and then take swift action in enacting these changes in a timely manner. Given that this involves an evolving societal conversation it was our preference to not spell out the intended audiences in the workshop’s new name.

We acknowledge that concern over the use of the acronym and term “URM” is not necessarily felt by all. However, we also firmly believe a name change was necessary given the issues raised with the term. An insightful piece describing the concern with using the term “URM” was written by Tiffani Williams in her ACM blog post “‘Underrepresented Minority’ Considered Harmful, Racist Language“, and also presented in her talk “Language Matters: Abolishing the Harmful and Racist Label ‘Underrepresented Minority’.

Again, we are truly thankful for everyone’s involvement and are pleased to announce that applications for the 2021 Grad Cohort for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills – The IDEALS Workshop are now being accepted through Nov. 30, 2020.

Apply today by clicking this link!