UW Environment Dean Lisa J. Graumlich shares her thoughts about LGBT STEM Day, celebrated July 5th, on the American Geophysical Union’s From the Prow blog.

“So, why do we need a special day for LGBT STEM? The data speak for themselves. According to a 2013 study in Nature, 43 percent of our scientific community is not comfortable being out at work,” Graumlich says. “It breaks my heart because I know what it’s like to live in that shadow. I suspect that those individuals are paying the price for their silence in reduced creativity, collegiality, and mental health.”

Dean Graumlich hopes we will all acknowledge LGBT STEM Day through starting a conversation, quoting data or expressing empathy.

Graumlich became one of AGU’s Board of Directors in 2017.