Diversity

The Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies at Brown University is committed to increasing and supporting the diversity of its graduate and postdoctoral trainees, and encourages members of underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities to apply for admission to its graduate programs and postdoctoral positions.  It seeks to foster opportunities to embrace the greatest mix of ideas, opinions, and beliefs so important to the achievement of academic excellence.  Exposure to a broad range of perspectives, views and outlooks is key to fostering both breadth and depth in intellectual knowledge.  Interaction among individuals from a diverse set of experiences, histories, attitudes, and backgrounds sharpens debate and promotes intellectual excellence. 

The Diversity Committee was formed in 2000 to assist in recruiting trainees who are from diverse backgrounds as well as those who have diversity-related research interests, and promoting cultural competence in training and research.  The Diversity Committee was formed through a collaborative partnership between the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (DPHB).  Among its roles, the committee assists with seminar planning on specific diversity topics, conducts evaluation of diversity-related content in didactics and overall training program, hosts Grand Rounds speakers, and manages the Diversity Mentoring Program. Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) faculty trainer Jacob van den Berg ([email protected]) currently serves on the committee as co-chair.  Additionally, CAAS faculty trainers Mark Celio ([email protected]), Suzanne Colby ([email protected]), Lynn Hernandez ([email protected]), Caroline Kuo ([email protected]), Hector Lopez-Vergara ([email protected]), Cara Murphy ([email protected]) and Hayley Treloar Padovano ([email protected]) serve as committee members. We encourage potential applicants to contact them for more information about these and other activities of the Diversity Committee.

The Diversity Committee has prepared a Diversity Packet that contains a complete list of the Diversity Committee members, Committee-sponsored opportunities, information on the demographics of the patient populations at the hospitals affiliated with Brown University, on-going research studies among underserved groups and/or ethnic groups, and university offerings for diversity and inclusion.   

The primary objectives of the Diversity Mentoring Program are to facilitate networking and career development among trainees and faculty of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies (CAAS) and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (DPHB), as well as offer trainees and faculty opportunities to discuss clinical, research, and professional issues relevant to diversity in a supportive collegial environment. You are qualified to be a mentee if you are a trainee or an early career faculty member affiliated with CAAS or DPHB.