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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

...a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community through the evaluation and improvement of department practices....

Read the EPS Diversity Statement

EPS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Please feel free to send questions, comments, feedback, or inquiries about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences to eps@ucdavis.edu.

The Association for Women Geoscientists: UC Davis Student Chapter is a student-founded, student-led chapter of the larger Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG). Participation and membership is open to students, staff, and faculty of all genders and demographic backgrounds. Some of our key programming is:

  1. A Gear Lending Program for students to be able to check-out outdoor gear (tent, backpacks, etc.) for course field trips at no cost to them.
  2. Two different mentorship programs (GeoMInS and AWG mentorship) where graduate student mentors are paired up with undergraduate mentees.

What is the Gear Lending Program?

The Gear Lending Program is a student-run program that provides field equipment to students in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences who do not already own the required gear and face obstacles purchasing it themselves. Graduate students organize, maintain, and update the gear. Students who use the equipment include undergraduate and graduate students participating in field trips for coursework or fieldwork for research. We provide backpacks, camping equipment, and technical outdoor clothing in a range of sizes. We are also working on a process to help students buy items better-suited for personal ownership, such as hiking boots. Our gear library is carefully maintained and will support students for many years to come!

To request gear from the program, please fill out this AWG Gear Request form.  

Why we started the Gear Lending Program:

Field experience can be a major draw for students interested in geoscience, but it also represents a significant financial and physical barrier. Not having the right gear can make a student uncomfortable in the field, obstruct their ability to learn, and ultimately discourage them from further pursuing Earth Sciences. We want all students to be prepared and have positive field experiences. Our goal is to provide field equipment to students in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences who do not already own the required gear and face obstacles purchasing it themselves. 

Supporting the Gear Lending Program

We created a lending library of field clothes and camping equipment to support students in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences' field-based classes. Students in the Geology major typically have 20-60 days of required field trips, including several overnight camping trips. Gear for those classes can cost over $50 per student and is not covered by campus or laboratory fees. Our goal is to maintain gear to fully outfit students as needed at no cost to them. In 2022, thanks to generous donations from the community and alumni, we successfully raised $7,000 to get the Gear Lending Program up and running! If you would like to support the future of the program and our students, you can do so on the EPS Giving page.

Any questions about these programs, interest in getting involved, or new program ideas, please reach out to awgucd_admin@ucdavis.edu.

EPS Anti-Racism Action Committee (ARAC)

The UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences Anti-Racism Action Committee (ARAC) commits to the practice of anti-racism by seeking to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community through the evaluation and improvement of department practices that contribute to racist outcomes. The department’s efforts promote the removal of biases in the recruitment, retention, and personal and professional success of geoscientists from all demographic groups, at all career stages.

The Anti-Racism Action Committee is charged with proposing actions to curtail racism that arises out biases in department structures, curriculum, and culture that produce different outcomes for people from different demographic groups. The ARAC will facilitate implementing changes under the direction of the Chair of EPS. This committee will consult widely within the department, ground recommendations in demonstrated best practices as documented in appropriate literature and consult with relevant experts. All members of the EPS community are encouraged to participate in this committee.

  1. Identify structures and practices that produce biases that contribute to racist outcomes in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
  2. Research documented solutions to racist outcomes in academic departments.
  3. Propose changes to the EPS Chair for implementation of changes in the Department. 
  4. Facilitate the implementation of recommended changes.
  5. Share our outcomes with other departments and interested people.

The ARAC was established in June 2020, with broad participation from undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, academic professionals, and faculty. Recommendations and their implementation status can be viewed on the EPS internal website. 

Comments to the ARAC
Ideas, feedback, comments and/or resources are welcomed by the UC Davis EPS Anti-Racism Action Committee (ARAC).

  • ARAC Feedback Form. Contributions can be anonymous or you can include your name. Everything input here will go to the chair of the ARAC. They will distribute the information to the rest of the committee as appropriate. Note that information provided here should not be considered confidential. If you wish to provide feedback on how the chair is doing, you can contact the EPS department chair.
  • eps-arac-feedback@ucdavis.edu. Feedback may also be submitted via email.

Reporting Harassment and Microaggressions
Harassment and discrimination are not acceptable at UC Davis or in the Earth and Planetary Sciences department.

  • If you would like to report any harassment or misconduct, please report it to HDAPP using their online form. Note that this is not a confidential resource.
  • If you would prefer to discuss matters within the Earth and Planetary Sciences department, please contact the EPS Chair, ARAC Chair, Graduate Advisor, Academic Advisor or a faculty member you trust. Note that they are all “responsible employees” and therefore must report some types of harassment to the University.

Departmental Structural Changes

EPS Email policies | Implemented
A new email list was established to promote discussion of difficult issues so that these discussions do not occur on lists that department members are obliged to join.

  • New policies were developed to explicitly define how required list-serves can be used by community members.
  • A process for removing email posting privileges was established.

Transparency in Hiring Practices 
Regular seminars are now offered on: 

  • Faculty Hiring Process at UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Graduate Student Admissions Process at UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences

Curriculum and Grading Practices

Field curriculum; lack of representation in courses; normative grading

Recommendations:

  • Syllabus additions to promote mental health | Implemented
    Background: The proposed change is to create a document listing all mental health resources available to students at UC Davis that will be adopted by the department and included in all EPS syllabi. This change is one step in a series to increase the mental well-being and sense of belonging for Black students, Indigenous students, and students of color within EPS.
  • Navigating mental health resources | Implemented
    Background: The proposed change is to normalize help-seeking behavior by offering yearly workshops from the UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services.
  • Equitable grading practices for EPS students | In-progress
    Background:     The practice of assigning letter grades using a ‘curve’ creates a competitive environment in which students are motivated to compete against one another for a limited number of top grades. Curved grading has been recognized as a practice that drives many talented students away from STEM disciplines.
  • Assessing the impacts of curricular change on EPS undergraduates | In-progress

Power and Harassment

Microaggressions; accountability; financial dependence on advisor

Recommendations:

  • Towards Safe and Inclusive Field Experiences | Faculty Adopted
    Background: Fieldwork can present a barrier to student success that is felt disproportionately by students of color, women, students with underrepresented genders and sexualities, and students with less money. Field geology has a racist and colonialist legacy with limited regard for indigenous populations. Some field trip participants may experience racist threats or violence. In general, institutional field safety plans have focused on one aspect of safety - physical safety. A modern view of field safety encompasses all aspects of the field experience as it impacts both physical and mental well-being. FAQ for Field Proposal

Financial Challenges

Field camp costs; hidden grad fees; summer funding; gear costs; tuition

Recruiting

Exclusive nature of network connections

Mentoring

Recommendations:

  • Writing a Faculty Advising Philosophy | Implemented
    Background: An advising philosophy is a document that lays out an advisor’s style, values, and practice of advising. The process of writing an advising philosophy helps the advisor explore their own practice, and the final product helps communicate this important information and expectations to advisees.
  • Navigating mental health resources | Approved
    Background: The proposed change is to normalize help-seeking behavior by offering yearly workshops from the UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services.
  • Recommendation for Promoting Equitable Mentoring | Approved
    Background: Developing an anti-racist mentoring culture is a critical step towards improving the recruitment, retention, well-being and success of BIPOC scientists. Specific recommended actions include: (1) adopting anti-racist mentoring guidelines and approaches, (2) implementing professional development opportunities for mentors focused on inclusive and equitable mentorship, and (3) providing transparency in and accountability of mentoring outcomes.

Cultural Climate

Sense of belonging; Image of ‘geologist’; department events

Recommendations:

  • Change the name of the ‘Brown Bag’ seminar | Implemented
    Background:     Use the term Lunch Seminar to refer to the Friday lunchtime seminars instead of the name 'Brown Bag'. Replace this term where it appears on the website, in emails, and in discussion.
  • Syllabus additions to promote mental health | Approved
    Background: The proposed change is to create a document listing all mental health resources available to students at UC Davis that will be adopted by the department and included in all EPS syllabi. This change is one step in a series to increase the mental well-being and sense of belonging for Black students, Indigenous students, and students of color within EPS.
  • Roles in belonging
    Background: A sense of belonging, mattering to another person, and being involved in a campus community all directly and positively impacts a student’s academic success and their overall satisfaction with their time in college or graduate school
  • Editing Course Evaluations to Reflect and Encourage DEI | Implemented
    Background: These proposed edits to course evaluation questions are intended to improve students’ sense of belonging in Geology courses, to provide instructors and TAs with more useful feedback to improve their courses pedagogically, and to better address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion that the existing evaluations did not address.

Departmental Structural Changes

EPS Email policies | Approved
A new email list was established to promote discussion of difficult issues so that these discussions do not occur on lists that department members are obliged to join.

  • New policies were developed to explicitly define how required list-serves can be used by community members.
  • A process for removing email posting privileges was established.

Department Seminar Changes
EPS seminar organizers now:

  • Invite all speakers to include diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism content in their seminars
  • Provide a small honorarium to speakers (except for people at UC, which is not allowed)
  • Identify and invite a broader diversity of speakers

Transparency in Hiring Practices
Annual seminars are now offered on:

  • Faculty Hiring Process at UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Graduate Student Admissions Process at UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences

Additional Resources