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CEE SAGE Seminar: Crucial Conversations: Building Awareness, Sensitivity and Community. Building Community in the CEE Department

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Tuesday, February 26, 2019
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Johnna Frierson, PhD, Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
CEE Spring 2019 Seminar Series

Johnna Frierson, PhD is the founding Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. In addition, she serves as the co-principal investigator of the Research Experience for Undergraduates program for Meeting the Grand Challenges in Engineering awarded by the National Science Foundation in March 2017. A native of Rock Hill, SC, she received her bachelor's degree in Biology at Furman University, and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University where she studied the role of sialic acid binding in reovirus neuropathogenesis under the direction of Dr. Terence Dermody. Her professional interests and expertise lie in examining and identifying solutions to challenges at the intersection of STEM, education, and diversity. Dr. Frierson translates this expertise into developing innovative programs and initiatives to enhance recruitment and retention of students and faculty from underrepresented backgrounds, support student development, cultivate an academic and professional environment that is inclusive and welcoming, and expand community outreach to inspire the next generation of STEM scholars.