About Earth and Environmental Sciences

Inspiring students through research, education, and outreach to advance scientific knowledge of the earth and its environment, and to embrace the responsibility for its stewardship.

Every student and citizen inspired by the wonder of the earth, engaged in the issues of the earth, and equipped with the knowledge to responsibly address the environmental challenges facing society.

We seek to inspire our students to become curious, caring, collegial, collaborative, and socially conscious citizens of the Earth.  We foster a community that values diversity, inclusivity, critical thinking, and curiosity-driven scientific inquiry of the interconnected earth system.  We celebrate the many paths and vocations our students follow as they take what they have learned to become scientific leaders, generous scholars, and compassionate stewards of our earth and environment for the greater good.

In keeping with the university’s Jesuit tradition, the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences is guided by a commitment to the pursuit of truth through science and the flourishing of the whole person. We seek to progress toward these goals through a culture that values and is strengthened by the inclusion of a diverse range of people, whose many perspectives are essential in our interdisciplinary and societally-relevant field. Our community is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has a deep sense of belonging, whose voice is heard and welcomed, and is appreciated for who they are, including but not limited to ethnic or national origin, race, religion, citizenship, language, political or other opinion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, age, or economic class. This applies to and involves all members of our department – faculty, staff, and students. Moreover, we strive to cultivate a safe environment that is free from exploitation, intimidation, and harassment, as well as discrimination of any form. We actively promote this environment in a number of ways, including through a faculty DEI committee, BC workshops (e.g., microaggressions, bias, power dynamics), national workshops (e.g. URGE, AGU Heads and Chairs), a diverse set of seminar speakers, department townhalls and surveys, and engagement with campus student groups (e.g. Women in STEM, SACNAS, Geoclub). We will continue on this journey together and will update this page as we do.  In that spirit, we welcome feedback (by contacting the Department Chair) on this values statement and the content of this webpage from anyone in our department community.

We condemn discrimination, hate speech, and harassment in any form and expect all members of our community to conduct themselves according to the highest standards of scientific integrity and professional ethics. In addition, the relationship between a student and the student’s professor and/or advisor is unique and carries extra demands for ethical behavior. As such, the professor/advisor (with the support of the department) will promote an educational experience that is intellectually stimulating and free of harassment, and be supportive, accessible, encouraging, and sensitive to the power imbalance in the student-advisor relationship. Furthermore, we expect all members of our department community to conduct themselves in a manner which upholds and honors the Values described above.  In times of need, or should anyone become aware of a violation of our Code or our Values – either personally or on behalf of another – please start by exploring our Resources Page to find the proper options.