The Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University stands with all people and organizations working to end racism and social injustice. We acknowledge the role of the Museum, and especially its founder, Louis Agassiz, in fostering ideas of racial disparity and inequality that underlie historical attitudes towards African Americans and other people of color—ideas that we soundly reject. As an institution devoted to education, research and public outreach, we are committed to developing programs that will earnestly evaluate these attitudes and promote contemporary solutions, and to offering new educational and research opportunities in the Museum for people who until now may have felt unwelcome or excluded.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Resources
Resources at Harvard
Museum of Comparative Zoology
- Acknowledgment of harmful content in our database, MCZbase
- Women of the Museum 1860-1920: Behind-the-scenes at the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Harvard University
Related commentary with regards to natural history museums
- African Americans in evolutionary science: where we have been, and what’s next by Joseph L. Graves Jr.
- Are natural history museums inherently racist? by Josh Davis
- Time for New Norms: Museums must address their systemic inequities if they want to be truly inclusive—and relevant—institutions. American Alliance of Museums
- People are calling for museums to be abolished. Can whitewashed American history be rewritten? CNN
- Addressing the British Museum’s Colonial History and Hollow Solidarity With Black Lives by Bayryam Mustafa Bayryamali
- Collection of Louis Agassiz information by Christopher Irmscher
- Morton, Agassiz, and the Origins of Scientific Racism in the United States by Louis Menand. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
- Scientist in Full: The fruitful, flawed Louis Agassiz, book review by James Hanken
- Exploring the North’s long history of slavery, scientific racism, Harvard Gazette
First Steps
- Community Outreach
- Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship renamed
- Robert A. Gilbert Room
- Ruth D. Turner Oceanography Conference Room
- Common Spaces
- OEB's Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee
The primary conference room at the MCZ, previously known as the Agassiz Room, was renamed in honor of Robert A. Gilbert. Gilbert (1869–1942) was one of the earliest natural history photographers in North America but was not acknowledged as such during his lifetime. More information on the contributions of Robert Gilbert can be found in relation to the plaque honoring him.
The Oceanography Conference Room at the MCZ was renamed in honor of Ruth D. Turner. Turner (1914–2000) was a marine biologist who specialized in the study of wood-boring bivalves and was a pioneer in the field of deep-sea biology. More information on the contributions of Ruth Turner can be found in relation to the plaque honoring her.
The Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, originally named the E. O. Wilson Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2022), was initiated through generous seed funding by the late Faculty-Curator Emeritus and University Research Professor Emeritus, and with support from additional donors. The change in the name of this program reflects our commitment to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of our core values. Memorial recognition awards disproportionately commemorate only a small fraction of scholars, typically those from privileged backgrounds, as well as individuals whose personal viewpoints may, with time, be at odds with the mission of the MCZ to foster a diverse and vibrant community of active zoologists, who feel supported, respected and able to do their best work.
Initiated in 2022, the MCZ along with the departments of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard, host one day a year to welcome high school students from the local Cambridge Rindge and Latin School to learn about marine sciences and studies in evolution. The full day includes visits to various labs, MCZ collections and a networking luncheon. This initiative, spearheaded by graduate outreach coordinator Julius Tabin as a member of OEB's Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee, hopes to give students exposure to science, get them excited about a potential career in science, and build networking connections that they might otherwise not have.
Originally called Marine Science Day in 2022, the program expanded to Evolution Day in 2023, increasing the scope and outreach of the program.
The Diversity Inclusion and Belonging Committee of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology includes MCZ staff, faculty, postdocs and graduate students. Recent activity by the Committee includes:
- The Emerging Scientist program, which will provide research experience to local high school students (spring 2024).
- OEB and Community Seminar, a part of the OEB seminar series where a scholar is invited to talk about the intersection of science and society (either the use or misuse of evolutionary biology to broader society, or how science as an institution and practice grapples with issues related to equity, access, and institutional design).
- Encourage graduate students to include History of Science and other courses related to diversity, inclusion and belonging, to their course load.
The MCZ is working towards making our building spaces welcoming to staff and students. We have removed artwork depicting Louis Agassiz from our common spaces, renamed the conference room formally in his name, and are making progress in building a lounge where all denizens of the building are welcome and have a place to rest and socialize.