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BEAM's Commitment to Diversity

BEAM faculty at January 2020 retreat. Faculty stand on staircase at the Inn of Virginia Tech
Here at BEAM, we are committed to inclusion and diversity. Pictured here are many of our faculty members during the department's retreat. Due to BEAM's ongoing, active research, some faculty were unable to attend and are not pictured. Photo by Laura Weatherford of Virginia Tech.

At the Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics Department, we are committed to fostering a diverse community of faculty, staff and students. We strive to recruit and graduate a high quality, diverse student body. The BEAM diversity committee supports these goals by listening to the needs and wants of the departmental community and formulating strategies for fulfilling these needs and wants. 

Click the link below to see a list of resources available at Virginia Tech and ways to get involved in supporting diversity and inclusion.

In alignment with the College of Engineering's strategic plan, we confirm our commitment to those five core values of inclusiveness, excellence, integrity, perseverance, and stewardship. 


Inclusiveness: Our community supports equity and fosters respect for every individual, enabling collaboration and collegiality to permeate our classrooms, research facilities, and offices, and to extend to the broader university community. We recognize the importance of allowing every voice to be heard in a spirit of mutual respect. 

Miguel Perez (co-chair)
Vincent Wang (co-chair)
Faculty/Staff:
Devon Albert
John Chappell
Renee Cloyd
Caitlyn Collins
Adam Hall (Wake Forest)
Students:
Neffisah D'odoo
Maxwell Lee (Wake Forest)
Josh Pulliam
Angel Collins
Miguel Perez (co-chair)
Vincent Wang (co-chair)
Faculty/Staff:
Devon Albert
John Chappell
Renee Cloyd
Caitlyn Collins
Adam Hall (Wake Forest)
Students:
Neffisah D'odoo
Dorothea Erxleben (Wake Forest)
Josh Pulliam
Ryosuke Yokosawa
Jake Socha (chair)
Faculty/Staff:
Miguel Perez
Anne Staples
Jenny Munson
Devon Albert
Adam Hall
Jessica Grimes
Claudia McGill-Rodriguez
Students: 
Nicole Stark
Ritu Ramamurthy
Priya Shanmugam
Maryam Hasan
Jennifer Munson (chair)
Anne Staples
Rafael Davalos
Miguel Perez
Jessica Grimes
Adam Hall (Wake Forest)
Hana Chan (Virginia Tech), graduate student
Katelyn Greene (Wake Forest), graduate student

The committee meets monthly during the semester. If you have any suggestions or concerns that the committee should discuss, please let any of us know. Find more information about our committee, newsletters, and ways to get involved here.

As a department in the College of Engineering, we receive the encouragement and support provided by the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED). Since its inception in 1992, the center has provided encouragement and support to engineering students, focusing on the under-represented population. CEED recognizes that Virginia Tech students are among the best and brightest, and assists them in achieving excellence.

For more information on how to support equity and diversity at BEAM and Virginia Tech visit:

Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community

Virginia Tech adopts and practices these principles as fundamental to our on-going efforts to increase access and inclusion and to create a community that nurtures learning and growth for all of its members.

Disrupting Academic Bullying

To maintain a culture of civility throughout the graduate education experience, academic bullying is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Virginia Tech’s Cultural and Community Centers 

Established in 1998 as the Safe Zone program, the Cultural and Community Centers office was created as a collaborative effort between the Dean of Students; HokiePRIDE of Virginia Tech; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Caucus (LGBT Caucus); and the Office for Equity and Access (formerly the Office of Equal Opportunity). Their purpose is to offer advocacy, advising, and cultural awareness .

LGBTQ+ Resource Center

The LGBTQ+ Resource Center aims to advance, through education and advocacy, the rights and well-being of all Virginia Tech LGBTQ+ communities locally, across the Commonwealth of Virginia, and around the globe. We work to provide space, acknowledge and celebrate intersectionality, cultivate leadership, and engage in activism in the spirit of Ut Prosim.

Stop Abuse

Virginia Tech commits to: working toward ending abuse and violence on campus; supporting the abused, and holding perpetrators accountable.