Office for Graduate Student Development & Diversity

The Office for Graduate Student Development and Diversity (OGSDD) coordinates efforts to recruit and retain students from diverse backgrounds, including minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups at the Graduate School. The office supports the needs of these students as they pursue graduate study and implements a wide array of academic and social programs. These services are available to all graduate students in an attempt to foster a sense of understanding and respect among all students, while simultaneously creating a more inclusive campus community. In addition, OGSDD administers the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program.

Personnel

Michelle Nearon

Senior Associate Dean & Director of Office for Graduate Student Development and Diversity

Warner House 206

michelle.nearon@yale.edu

Phone: 203-436-1301

Michelle Nearon

Senior Associate Dean & Director of Office for Graduate Student Development and Diversity

Office for Graduate Student Development & Diversity

Warner House 206

michelle.nearon@yale.edu

Phone: 203-436-1301

Primary Responsibilities: Diversity Strategic Initiatives, Emerging Scholars Initiative, Title IX and Dean’s Designee

Michelle Nearon joined the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in July 2008, where she works closely with students, members of the faculty and administration, and the McDougal Center Offices, to proactively recruit, retain, and assist in the professional development of graduate students from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, political, cultural, and lifestyle backgrounds. Dean Nearon received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brooklyn Polytechnic University, respectively. After completing her master’s degree she devoted approximately ten years to both the aerospace and automotive industries, beginning as a research engineer and ultimately becoming a general manager. She then completed a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stony Brook University in May 2000. Nearon subsequently served on the faculty at Stony Brook University as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and as director of recruitment and diversification in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences until coming to Yale.