#  Anthropology Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee 

 



   ![tozzer](/sites/g/files/omnuum6911/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/anthrostandingcommittee/files/tozzer.jpg?itok=KmoD8THV) 

 

## Mission Statement

**Anthropology Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) Committee**

First established in 1890 as the Department of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard’s Anthropology Department today is a dynamic and diverse community of scholars, students, and staff whose work seeks to understand human diversity in the distant past and the present and to recognize the remarkable array of circumstances in which human beings live their lives and make meaning from them.

On May 29 and June 5, 2020, our community was deeply shaken by two articles published in the Harvard Crimson that reported allegations of misconduct and inappropriate behavior by faculty associated with the Anthropology Department. The alleged misconduct is an affront to our core values as a department and our mission to educate tomorrow’s scholars and leaders. While the mechanisms for investigating the allegations and imposing sanctions fall outside the purview of the department, there is much that we can do to strengthen our department, rebuild trust within our community, and empower our most vulnerable members to speak out. We are fully committed to the support and success of our students, and we are dedicated to repairing and rebuilding our relationships over the long term to create a more supportive and equitable departmental culture.

In response, we established a standing committee with representatives from all departmental constituencies – undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni – to conduct a year-long self-study that allowed us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and make meaningful and lasting departmental improvements so that we may reach our full potential. Within this standing committee, we formed eight subcommittees whose mission served to evaluate in detail the core aspects of our departmental structure, processes, history, and trajectory, and to recommend measures that will enable us to strengthen our mission and to foster a supportive departmental community in which our students, faculty, and staff can thrive.

In Fall 2022, the Anthropology Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB) Committee was created as an evolution of the previous standing committee in order to continue and expand the Anthropology Department's work and efforts in maintaining a supportive and equitable community culture.



 

###  Contact 

   ![Photo of Rowan Flag](/sites/g/files/omnuum6911/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/2025-07/untitled-5.png?itok=WP--6_zO) 

 

Dr. Rowan Flad  
**Department Chair**

   ![Jason Ur](/sites/g/files/omnuum6911/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/anthrostandingcommittee/files/epas2019_20190922_jason_iphone_033.jpg?itok=LLGmbiux) 

 

Dr. Jason Ur  
**2024-25 Departmental LEID Fellow**



 

###  Resources 

[Anthropology Department](https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/)

[FAS Title IX Coordinators](https://oge.harvard.edu/specialized-local-supports)

[Office for Gender Equity (OGE)](https://oge.harvard.edu)

[Office for Dispute Resolution (ODR)](https://odr.harvard.edu)

*Department Statement in response to Title IX cases, originally published on May 6, 2022:*

"Sexual misconduct and other forms of harassment and intimidation have inflicted severe harm on our department. Over the past two years, we have reckoned with the way intimidation and harassment violate equal access to a safe and supportive educational and work environment. In response, we have instituted changes to departmental policies and procedures with the aim of increasing transparency and accountability and will continue to do so over the short and longer term. Many members of the Anthropology department are also actively working with the greater Harvard community to advocate for necessary changes to the University’s investigatory processes for the betterment of our educational mission."