About

MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has pledged to develop and implement actions that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our students, faculty, and staff. As a community, we are committed to celebrating diversity and rejecting racism or prejudice in any form.

This page offers an overview of the various activities we are taking as a department to build a community that is actively anti-racist, works towards correcting systemic and institutional racism, and treats every individual with respect, dignity, kindness, and fairness. It will be updated as additional actions are implemented.

DEI Strategic Action Plan: An outline of current departmental projects related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

DEI Task Force Report out to the MechE Community: A summary of the Task Force's work and recommendations.

Community and Equity Officer

Bryan Nance

We are delighted to announce that Bryan Nance will join MechE as Department Community and Equity Officer effective January 1. With twenty years of experience in higher ed, the breadth and depth of Bryan’s knowledge on matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion is truly impressive. He has a proven track record of facilitating positive change at the institutions where he has worked, including The Ohio State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Cornell University to name a few. Bryan is also familiar with MIT, having formerly worked as MIT’s Director of Minority Recruitment, where he created, implemented, and managed a first-year recruitment plan leading to a 46% increase in URM enrolled students.

Throughout his career, Bryan has had outstanding results with the creation of admission policies that led to the identification, recruitment, admission, enrollment, and graduation of diverse and low-income students. He also has collaborated with many stakeholders to promote strong and healthy communities at the institutions where he has worked. In addition to a diverse range of experiences in higher ed, Bryan brings tremendous energy, compassion, and a great sense of humor.

Bryan will play an important role in fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment within our department. He will work closely with departmental leadership and the MechE DEI Task Force to apply his knowledge of best practices to the department in various relevant contexts.

Faculty Diversity Chair

Associate Professor Asegun Henry serves as MIT MechE’s Faculty Diversity Chair. As Faculty Diversity Chair, Professor Henry will also lead our MechE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force

Learn More About Professor Henry

Professor Ase Henry

Resources