Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

UMass Lowell's Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EEAS) holds diversity, equity and inclusion as core values. 

Goals

The goals of the EEAS department’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) activities are to:

• Foster a welcoming and supportive environment for all students, especially those from historically excluded groups
• Connect students, staff and faculty with resources for support and success
• Discuss DEI issues and racism explicitly in class and in professional development activities, especially from disciplinary perspectives
• Increase the diversity of the department to reflect the US population
• Evaluate our activities and progress yearly

The department’s DEI Committee has the responsibility to facilitate, support and evaluate DEI activities. Several activities are already in progress and the planned efforts for the next year aim to formalize, expand and track those activities. We expect the planned activities to advance not just DEI but the closely-related issues of retention, recruitment and overall student success.

Recent Activities

• Formal acceptance into the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Bridge program
• Implementation of an EEAS graduate student peer mentorship program
• Development of an EEAS graduate handbook that clearly outlines expectations and disciplinary norms
• Development of a central resource for earth science affinity groups, scholarships, and internships