In the Savage lab, we strive to provide an inclusive, supportive, & productive research environment:

Inclusive: Diversity is a broad term, which can be defined across many simultaneous axes, including: race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic upbringing, and religion. The inclusion of group members from different backgrounds enriches any group. While the benefits of having diverse perspectives are important across all aspects of modern life, they are particularly important in a field like urban ecology. Urban systems are fundamentally socioecological, and some of the most creative innovations in the field have resulted from collaborations among people from diverse identities and backgrounds.

In the Savage Lab, we recognize that including diverse perspectives is the best way to achieve excellence in science (or any other field). We appreciate and respect diverse perspectives and strive to continually foster an environment of inclusivity throughout all aspects of our field, lab, and university work. As a group, all members of the Savage Lab are committed to the ideals of inclusivity.

As a PI, I am personally committed to helping students and post-docs from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields and to providing additional resources to students and post-docs who have faced barriers to a career in STEM due to historical and systemic racism.

Supportive: We are a community of scholars, each with our own goals, striving to address big questions about ecology in a rapidly changing world. All members of the Savage Lab – including undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and the PI- actively support one another so that we can all achieve our personal and lab goals.

As a PI, I meet 1-on-1 with students and post-docs at least once a week, host bi-weekly lab meetings, seek funding for student and post-doc support, and provide timely and constructive feedback on student and post-doc work.

Productive: Science without communication cannot advance knowledge. Therefore, we are committed to conducting rigorous field and laboratory research with accurate statistical analyses, publishing our findings in primary scientific journals, and communicating our research to public audiences (through informal venues, such as interviews with media, science cafés, and participation in public science events).

As a PI, I provide opportunities and support to lab members and give proper credit to everyone who contributes to research in our lab.

 

If you are interested in joining the Savage Lab, please send me an email at amy.savage@rutgers.edu.