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Our Commitment to Diversity

ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT

The STEM disciplines, and Earth Sciences in particular, face significant challenges in the realm of diversity and inclusion. Stereotypical images of fieldwork often present a one-dimensional view of Earth Sciences, where the reality of our discipline is far more multifaceted, and requires a wide variety of skill sets.

As such, the Department of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth promotes diversity and inclusion among our core values, and welcomes individuals from all backgrounds. Diversity within our community is integral to advancing scientific knowledge. All facets of a vibrant intellectual community – rigorous inquiry, open discourse, and diversity of ideas – demand and benefit from a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive environment. We are therefore committed to fostering a community of diverse perspectives (including, but not limited to, representation of gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status).

As highlighted in a June 9th, 2020, letter to the community, the faculty in the Department of Earth Sciences re-committed to the following actions (with progress assessed annually): 

  • Regular training in implicit bias for all faculty, staff, and graduate students; 
  • Increase the visibility of underrepresented minority Earth Scientists in our courses, seminars and department decorations; 
  • Remove visual cues from the department that reinforce stereotypes that the Earth Sciences are only for white outdoor enthusiasts; 
  • Improve access to the EARS major by refining a non-Stretch major track that allows students who are unable to or uninterested in participating in the Stretch to be majors; 
  • Develop VR field trips to improve the accessibility of remote field locations of geological interest; 
  • Mentor students through programs such as EE Just, and other campus initiatives that increase diverse participation in STEM at Dartmouth; 
  • Work with the campus IDE program to recruit diverse faculty and postdoctoral candidates.
     

Earth Sciences Diversity Committee

The EARS Diversity is composed of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate/undergraduate students within the Department of Earth Sciences. This committee advises the Department Chair (Bob Hawley) on ways we can continually move forward in creating a respectful, diverse, inclusive, and resilient community. The current members of the EARS diversity committee are:

  • Meredith Kelly, Professor, Committee Co-Chair
  • Mathieu Morlighem, Professor, Committe Co-Chair
  • Brenhin Keller, Assistant Professor
  • Joseph Biasi, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Tianran Zhang, Graduate Student
  • Vignesh Gokuladas Melon, Graduate Student
  • Ivan Tochimani-Hernandez, Undergraduate Student
  • Mimi Grozeva, Undergraduate Student

INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE AT DARTMOUTH

At the College level, the Dartmouth Inclusive Excellence action plan has identified six initiatives that affirm our commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion across Dartmouth. They are: 1) increasing faculty diversity, 2) increasing staff diversity, 3) building a more inclusive community, 4) increasing transparency, 5) confronting and learning from the past, 6) being accountable.
 
Read more about Inclusive Excellence.