EESA URGE Pod Continues as Community-Led Group - Earth and Environmental Sciences Area

In the last few months, a group of EESA colleagues have been participating in the nationwide URGE program (Unlearning Racism in Geoscience) as the EESA URGE pod. This educational program was funded by the National Science Foundation to address gaps in diversity in the geosciences, as it is the least diverse STEM discipline at all degree levels (Brenard and Cooperdock, 2018). The URGE curriculum led each pod through a 16-week course including educational reading assignments and discussions, expert interviews, and action-based deliverables specific to each organization.

Although the first round of the educational curriculum has ended, the EESA URGE pod has continued as a community led-group with two components: 1) URGE working groups (see list below) which meet independently to make progress on these EESA-specific action items in coordination with the related EESA IDEA working groups. 2) Weekly Meetings on Fridays at 11 a.m., with an agenda rotating between discussing articles from the URGE curriculum and discussing progress on action items as a group.

Everyone is welcome to join, whether for paper discussions, or working groups. It is up to each individual to decide in what capacity they are interested in participating with URGE. If you’re interested in getting involved, please join our weekly meetings by adding this event to your calendar here.

Access more information about EESA’s URGE pod and IDEA framework here.

EESA URGE Pod Working Groups:

Career Path internship program

Hiring & Promotion

New Hire Communication

Diversity Statement

Diversity of Invited Speakers

Creating a Curriculum on Environmental Racism

Guide for Fieldwork inclusiveness and safety

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