AIChE has announced that alum Eric Reiner (Ph.D ChemE ’94) recently made a $50k donation to the AIChE Foundation to kick off their LGBTQ+ & Allies Initiative aimed at advancing the inclusiveness of the chemical engineering profession. In addition to supporting AIChE events and activities that promote inclusivity of LGBTQ chemical engineers at all career stages, funds raised in the campaign will subsidize a newly launched AIChE’s LGBTQ+ & Allies online community, which is now in its pilot phase.
At a recent AIChE reception, Reiner reflected on his own experiences as an openly gay man working in the financial sector, and how the accepting and inclusive workspace he found in that field had helped to enable his success. “I grew up in the chemical engineering field and then went on into banking. I particularly benefited in that I could be an out gay man and succeed in that career.”
The College of Chemistry is proud of our alumni and the outreach they foster as part of their personal experiences and careers. The College recently launched the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Wellness initiative. This initiative recognizes the diverse and vibrant community at the College that includes experiences and perspectives arising from differences in culture and circumstance. We embrace this uniqueness and the scientific vision and discovery that it fosters. Our aim is to develop a fund that can help encourage an academic community where all perspectives are welcome and that debate can be respectful and robust; and where students, staff and faculty can contribute to science in a safe and nurturing environment.