13 projects chosen for 2022 Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund grants

The Harvard Culture Lab Innovation Fund (HCLIF) has awarded grants to 13 teams that have designed and created projects aimed at fostering diversity and equity on campus while helping advance a culture of inclusion.

“Changing culture around equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging at Harvard and elsewhere requires new ideas not just from leaders, but also from those with the daily lived experiences of their communities,” said Sherri Charleston, Harvard’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. “I’m inspired by all the individuals who have received a grant and commend their collective ambition to make Harvard a more equitable and inclusive space. I’m looking forward to seeing the outcomes of each project.”

This year’s recipients include undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, and faculty, representing a range of Harvard’s Schools and units, with several teams made of up of representatives from more than one School.

The awardees include new projects like To Be Seen, which aims to add signs acknowledging Indigenous lands on public trails, thereby interrupting the dominant colonizer narratives that devalue the lived experiences of Indigenous community members, and redesign signage that acknowledges Indigenous land. The project is a collaboration between a postdoc, undergraduate students, the Harvard Forest, Harvard University Native American Program, and the Nipmuc community to amplify Indigenous voices on public lands.

Other projects include more established initiatives that are developing new ways to engage the community, like the Inclusive Teaching Institute, which helps faculty and instructors explore inclusive and blended teaching. The group plans to use the grant to expand their network into Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School.

Mary DiSalvo, whose project, the Language Exchange, was awarded a grant, and who works as the language support manager and IT liaison at Harvard’s Language Center, spoke about why the program that helps people practice speaking other languages will make a difference.

“The Language Exchange provides a shared social and linguistic space like no other at Harvard,” she said. “When used to its full potential, the Language Exchange allows Harvard community members to take full advantage of the breadth of cultural and linguistic experience, just a few clicks away.”

Octavious Talbot, a Ph.D. candidate in biostatistics at the School of Public Health and the leader of StatStart, another awardee, said his project to bring STEM learning to underrepresented high school students will continue to improve learning outcomes with support from the grant. “StatStart has demonstrated that, in a short month, students from a diverse background can be motivated to pursue STEM by focusing on their strengths, fellowship, and mentorship,” he said.

Additional 2022 HCLIF recipients

Applications for 2023 HCLIF grants are open to any Harvard student, educator, or employee with ideas that foster belonging and identify a critical challenge around diversity, inclusion, or belonging on campus. Applications can be submitted to the Harvard Culture Lab, and are due by March 24, 2023.