UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Understanding how earth and environmental systems operate and interact with human systems is crucial for the global community, but the personnel working within these fields does not represent a highly diverse population. As our environmental problems become more globalized and more challenging, we need all perspectives to tackle both fundamental and applied environmental problems.
The EESI EarthTalks series “Changemaking made EESI: Fostering inclusive research communities in the Earth and environmental sciences” will explore new perspectives on initiatives that could increase diversity in environmental fields, with a particular slant toward Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS). The seminars, which are free and open to the public, take place at 4 p.m. on Mondays via Zoom.
The series schedule is as follows:
- Oct. 26 – Sonya Legg, Princeton University, and Colleen Mouw, University of Rhode Island, "Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention (MPOWIR): Lessons from a decade of mentoring for improving retention of underrepresented groups in oceanography"
- Nov. 2 – Gary King, Penn State, “The DEI paradigm and the anti-racism reckoning in academe”
- Nov. 9 – Danielle Conway, dean, Dickinson Law, and Lee Kump, dean, College of EMS, “An environment for all: A conversation about fostering diversity in Dickinson Law and the College of EMS”
- Nov. 23 – Vernon Morris, Arizona State University, “Challenges to achieving equitable representation in geosciences: A view from within”
The EESI EarthTalks series is hosted by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. For more information about the fall 2020 series, visit the EarthTalks web page.