*Professor Jennifer MacKinnon, third from right, was acknowledged for her work in cultivating belonging among early career scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Photo by Wesley Ruan*

The MOD team’s own Jennifer MacKinnon has been appointed the new Associate Dean of the School of Marine Science for Faculty Equity. In addition, she was recently honoured at the UCSD annual Inclusive Excellence Award along with 13 other individuals at UCSD recognized for their outstanding efforts to celebrate cultural differences and promote fairness across campus. Read more here.

Associate Dean for Faculty Equity is a new academic position at Scripps created with commitment to the UC San Diego Principles of Community, in particular to equitable practices for recruitment, retention and evaluation of faculty. The title is given to the SIO Faculty Equity Advisor (FEA), with hopes of enhancing the ability to recruit and retain excellent faculty and evaluate them in a fair way by having a ladder-rank faculty member specifically tasked with equity concerns in regards to these activities.

The new Associate Dean is not alone in the quest for fairness but will collaborate with the SIO coordinator for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives, and will be backed up by an Alternate FEA that will step in whenever the ocean calls the Associate Dean away on field work.

Professor MacKinnon is currently the Primary FEA, and her position as Associate Dean for Faculty Equity extends until June 2021, but is eligible for renewal.

Way to go Jen!