SUGC Action and Outreach

• Every guest lecturer is provided with the Lecturer Guidelines in advance of their talk, a document meant to encourage lecturers to more directly address topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion that intersect with their presentation topic.
• Additionally, the SUGC Inclusive Teaching Guide was created for more in-depth suggestions and strategies for course instructors to foster a socially and culturally responsive pedagogical practice. 

All students and their rotation supervisors are encouraged to implement the Rotation Supplement in their onboarding, evaluation, and offboarding workflow. This guide is meant to facilitate discussion about the different perspectives each individual brings to the rotation and troubleshoot areas of conflict. 

Students are provided with a curated list of resources that reflect research best practices to consider and incorporate participation from all identities and backgrounds, ensuring research is rigorous.

• Students are asked to complete a quarterly Inclusion and Belonging survey to help communicate how the leadership team is doing in our efforts to create a sense of belonging and community within the training program.
  
• The SUGC anonymous feedback form was created as a central, confidential place for students to report any interaction with faculty, patients, staff, supervisors, or classmates that have made them feel uncomfortable or treated differently.  

• The program’s Service and Outreach requirement provides an opportunity for students to give back to both our profession and to society, based on the premise that scientific excellence comprises both research productivity and a commitment to improving the broader community, expanding public engagement with science, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in science.
• The SGC AOC creates many opportunities to encourage professional growth in the SUGC community and beyond, notably:
  
  • The role of student Chair(s) of the AOC is financially supported by the program as a Work-study position, meaning the Chair(s) receive tuition support for their commitment to this leadership position.
    
  • The SGC AOC Fund was created to provide financial support for students interviewing with the program, for students admitted to the program, and projects that align with the SGC AOC’s aims.  
    
  • The training program sponsors continuing education units to practicing genetic counselors who attend the Professional Development Seminar Series, a year-long series of lectures and discussions about the ways we can improve our genetic counseling community and practice.
  • The AOC collaborates with The Genomics Advocacy Committee (TGAC), a group comprised of Genetics PhD students, in various capacities.