Diversity and Inclusion

The Earth Sciences department recognizes that the geoscience community, both at the University of New Hampshire and nationally, does not reflect the demographics of the United States and we acknowledge it is our responsibility to change this reality. We assert that all individuals, regardless of racial identity, ethnic background, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, ability, religion, or national origin, must be provided equal opportunity in the field of geosciences. We are committed to making the geosciences more accessible to everyone, as diversity of people, backgrounds, cultures, and ideas will only enrich our field.

The ESCI DEI committee recognizes that the words of a statement cannot make things right. What we can do is reflect as a department on how we can better dismantle systematic racism, sexism and bias to ensure inclusion for all in academia– in our labs, in the field, in our classrooms, and in our mindsets and actions. We are actively engaged in changes at the departmental level including:

• Estabishment of the ESCI DEI committee with representation from faculty, staff and students
• Increasing the diversity of our faculty through recruitment (ex. UNH’s Postdoctoral Diversity and Innovation Scholars program: https://unh.edu/engagement/postdoctoral-diversity-and-innovation-scholars)
• Partnering with more diverse institutions to provide training and opportunities to underrepresented students (https://www.unh.edu/leitzel-center/geopaths-closes-gap)
• Evaluation of common courses and experiences to ensure community building and inclusive teaching (ESCI 400, graduate student orientation, ESCI 997/998)
• Adding discussions of equity, access, and inclusion in geoscience fieldwork to our 2 field courses, which are required for ESCI undergraduate majors
• Utilizing our seminar series (Brown bag seminar and Chapman Colloquium) to have discussions about DEI and provide opportunities for a diverse range of geoscientists to share their research and outreach efforts with our department
• Track and report our demographic metrics for applications, acceptances, retention and graduation rates in our associated undergraduate and graduate programs
• Focus fundraising efforts on funds for current and incoming graduate students, particularly those from underrepresented groups

We will also collaborate with our associated programs, college and university administration level on:

• UNH Postdoctoral Diversity and Innovation Scholars program (https://unh.edu/engagement/postdoctoral-diversity-and-innovation-scholars)
• Application to the American Geophysical Union Bridge Program (NRESS)
• Working to increase recruitment and retention of diverse students (UNH Graduate School)
• Share resources offered by UNH for training (Associate Vice President for Community, Equity and Diversity)

As our national conversation and departmental programming evolve, so too will this commitment and action statement. We strongly encourage everyone to join in the conversation. Here are some places to start:

• ESCI DEI committee chair (Ruth.varner@unh.edu)
• Brown Bag seminar
  
  • Schedule available here, contact Joel.Johnson@unh.edu for more information
• UNH Office of Community, Equity and Diversity
  
  • https://www.unh.edu/inclusive/
• American Geophysical Union
  
  • https://www.agu.org/Learn-About-AGU/About-AGU/Diversity-and-Inclusion