A top science official for the Biden administration is leaving her job after injecting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices into her office’s operations.
Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, the director of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science, told employees she would be stepping aside from her post at the end of March, according to Science. Two of the signature accomplishments of her tenure include requiring grant applicants to submit statements about how proposed research will benefit marginalized groups and the creation of two major workforce diversity programs, according to the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
The Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) program aimed to route research to institutions that are not typically major players in the office’s portfolio, and the Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative had similar aims with greater focus on “minority serving institutions” and “emerging research institutions.”
Berhe, who will head back to the University of California, Merced, where she has a professorship in soil biogeochemistry, touted her work to inject DEI into the Office of Science’s operations in her farewell message to colleagues, according to AIP. The Office of Science is the government’s leading funder of physical sciences research, with a budget of more than $8 billion, according to Science.
Only four Republicans voted to confirm Berhe in 2022, while scientists were split about her fitness for the post. Some supported her because they believed she would be better-positioned to orient the Office of Science around finding responses to climate change, while others suggested that she was not qualified to hold the role, according to Science.
“Under Dr. Berhe’s leadership, the office saw historic increases in funding, particularly for critical new technologies like artificial intelligence and fusion energy,” DOE Chief of Staff Christopher Davis said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Programs she oversaw have made critical contributions to climate science, energy breakthroughs, and the advancement of emerging technologies, all while infusing the principles of equity, inclusivity, and accessibility. The secretary and I are grateful for Dr. Berhe’s willingness to serve the American people and wish her the very best as she returns to academia.”