Championing Belonging and Inclusiveness Across Campus
Congratulations to the 2026 DEI Innovation Grant Program Recipients! Your dedication to advancing student success and fostering environments where all members of the FSC community feel valued, heard, and empowered is truly commendable.
Through your sustained and remarkable efforts, creativity, and leadership, you are championing belonging and inclusiveness throughout campus while cultivating meaningful, lasting change. Your initiatives reflect a deep commitment to strengthening our FSC community and ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion remain central to our institutional mission. We look forward to seeing the innovative impact your work continues to shape a more inclusive culture and a profound sense of belonging for all.
As a writer and activist Maya Angelou reminds us,
"In diversity there is beauty and there is strength."
Your efforts embody this principle and serve as a powerful reminder that inclusive excellence is achieved through intentional action, collaboration, and care for one another.
Meet the 2026 Grant Recipients and their Projects
Farmingdale Roots: Voices of Belonging In Motion
Farmingdale Roots: Voices of Belonging in Motion is a short-film project that highlights the diverse identities and lived experiences that shape our campus. Through a collage of video narratives, members of the FSC community will share personal reflections on belonging, cultural heritage, and the journeys, recent or historical, that brought them here. These authentic voices will be woven into a short film, "Farmingdale's Tapestry of Voices," culminating in a public campus screening designed to spark connection, reflection, and dialogue. Creative takeaway swag and a digital archive will extend the impact beyond the event, ensuring these stories remain part of the campus conversation.
- Suzelle Zamore, PhD, Director of the Liberty Partnerships Program
- FSC Student Assistants: to be announced
Growth and Success from Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion on the AAPI Community
A campus-wide DEI initiative centered on the FSC AAPI community through facilitating an inclusive, supportive environment that empowers individuals to thrive personally and professionally.
- Yaping Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Physics
Count Me In! Gender and Sexual Identity Representation in Research Recruitment and Data Collection
A grant project focused on developing best practices for measuring gender and sexual identity in research, including IRB review of demographic survey questions and two fall semester workshops that engage faculty and students in critical dialogue.
- Jaime Hartless, PhD, Chair of IRB Committee & Assistant Professor
- Anthony DeSimone, Instructional Support Assistant
Campus Pride Index Speaks
This project is designed to enhance career readiness and professional development for students through connecting them with LGBTQIA+ affirming employers, mentors, and career pathways. Over the 2025 fall semester a targeted workshop was led by an experienced guest speaker that provided students with firsthand insight into career preparation, mentorship opportunities, research pathways, and strategies for securing internships and future employment.
- Jennifer Ackerman, RAM Academic Counselor
Professional Head Shot Event
A complimentary professional headshot event held in fall 2025 supported BIPOC students through providing access to high-quality photography for Linkedin profiles, job applications, networking, and other professional opportunities. By removing financial barriers to this essential career resource, the event helped students confidently present themselves in competitive environments and promoted greater equity by ensuring broader access to professional tools.
- Fatoma Rad, Associate Librarian
- Nathanial White, Mechanical Engineering Student
- Raeshana Ferguson, Business Management Student
Reflected Right: Equitable Representation Through Campus Imagery
With support from the DEI Innovation Grant Program, Tevin has secured the necessary tools to correct disparity and produce imagery that celebrates the full spectrum of FSC student identifies. These upgrades are not about aesthetics, however focused on equity, trust, and dignity. When students see themselves represented accurately and beautifully, it builds institutional trust and reinforces their sense of belonging. Creating inclusive visual content is more than just representation, its affirmation and aligns with the DEI goals of FSC and the SUNY system at large.
- Tevin Foster, Associate Director of Media Production
