Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Advancing equity in Earth Sciences
The Department of Earth Sciences is committed to providing an inclusive, accessible, safe and anti-racist environment for all students, staff and faculty in our family. Our overarching goal is to contribute to the transformation of higher education beginning with our own department.
We strive to maintain a diverse community of people representing a broad range of backgrounds and cultures in our department. Of particular concern are members of Underrepresented Minorities (URM); groups that have been historically marginalized and therefore underrepresented in the geosciences, in particular students who are Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC). Consistent with the University at Buffalo, we extend URM to include LGBTQ and differently abled persons as these groups also lack representation across many STEM fields.
We are proud of our collegial department that has had faculty gender parity since 2006 and have actively sought to increase the number of URM hires. Even so, we recognize that we must continue to work towards a more equitable and inclusive department if we are to attract and retain the best and brightest students into our program. Fostering such an environment serves three important purposes:
- Diversity is synonymous with excellence, as it illustrates rigor in recruiting from the full pool of top candidates, retaining them to successful completion of their UB goals and advancing them to careers outside of UB.
- A diverse community of scholars, staff, and students who bring a variety of perspectives to creative problem-solving enhances our innovation and quality in research, teaching and outreach.
- Working in an inclusive, accessible and safe environment is key to being engaged and empowered citizens of UB and the world.
Our department is consistently seeking out means of providing an even more inclusive environment for faculty and students in a variety of ways:
- A standing committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion has been part of the Department of Earth Sciences since 2020. The purpose of this committee is to carry out departmental initiatives that improve the environment for all students, particularly those from URM or BIPOC backgrounds.
- The Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) Pod gives graduate students and faculty an opportunity to focus on developing and refining anti-racist strategies and resources for the Department of Earth Sciences under the national URGE curriculum. The pod has developed a Code of Conduct for lab and field work, university-wide reporting resource flowchart and a departmental Complaints and Reporting Policy. The stated goal is to enhance participation and retention of marginalized and BIPOC individuals within our school and the broader geoscience community.
- Safe Zone Training workshops are offered to all faculty and students. These sessions are facilitated by professional staff at the university and provide “powerful, effective LGBTQ awareness and ally training”. Nearly half of our faculty are trained.
- Instant, electronic and anonymous reporting for EDI issues of concern allows members of the department to alert the faculty of situations or incidents where the core tenants of EDI are being challenged or ignored. Individuals who feel harmed, disrespected or excluded can raise these issues without fear of retaliation, and enable the department to respond in a timely manner.
- “Coffee hours” scheduled on a semi-weekly basis give students and faculty an opportunity to interact with each other in a relaxed environment, allowing a free exchange of thoughts and ideas, strengthening the unity among members of the department.
- Regular diversity training for faculty, graduate students and staff through the UB Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
- Support for national organizations such as Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) and the National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG) to help promote diversity among members of our department.
- Participation in the UB Distinguished Visiting Scholar Program allows our department to host URM geologists to give a seminar to our students and faculty, and serve as a model for other students from similar backgrounds to become more engaged in science.
Sometimes an individual's behavior may not meet the UB policy definitions of discrimination or harassment but still be experienced as unprofessional and/or inappropriate. A student may be harmed by interactions or experiences with an individual who did not intend to injure, harm, or harass them. Students may also witness inappropriate and/or unprofessional behavior. If you do not feel comfortable addressing the concern directly, you may share your concern/feedback anonymously via the linked Google form. The EDI committee will review and take appropriate action if possible.
In other situations, a student may be intentionally injured, harmed or harassed through acts of intolerance based on their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, gender, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, familial status, veteran status, military status, domestic violence victim status or ex-offender status. We encourage reporting from all students who have experienced or witnessed incidents that intend to injure, harm or harass as outlined on the University Student Life Gateway website.
In the case of physical confrontation or injury resulting from a bias-related incident, or threats of physical violence, contact University Police immediately at 716-645-2222.
For all other bias-related incidents, call Student Life at 716-645-2982.
The University makes a clear distinction between bias-related incidents prompted by intolerant behaviors and illegal discrimination or discriminatory harassment based on protected factors including but not limited to sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, and veteran status. Matters of discrimination and harassment are handled by the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. If you believe you have been discriminated against or harassed based on a factor listed in UB's Discrimination and Harassment Policy, or if you witnessed discrimination or harassment of others, contact the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, 406 Capen Hall, at 716-645-2266 for an appointment to report an incident. You may call the office anonymously if you would prefer not to give your name. The investigatory process is outlined in full on the UB EDI website
URGE (Unlearning Racism in Geoscience) focuses on advancing equity and inclusion in the Geosciences. Its primary objectives are to:
- Expand the Geoscience community’s understanding of how racism impacts the participation and retention of People of Color in the field.
- Use existing research, expert insights, and lived experiences to create actionable anti-racist policies and resources.
- Foster collaboration within a networked community to share, discuss, and refine these resources at both local and national levels.
- Apply and evaluate the effectiveness of anti-racist strategies within Geoscience workplaces.
