A Place for All

The Department of Earth and Oceanographic Science at Bowdoin is a place for all.

It is a place where students and scholars from all backgrounds belong, and where diverse experiences and perspectives are critically important to shaping our understanding of the natural world, the influence of humans on our world, and our future. Our work advances the understanding of geological, oceanographic, and climate processes, and we explore the complex interactions among natural processes and how they impact society.

We recognize that historically our discipline favored white, able-bodied cis/het males at the exclusion of others. Thankfully, this disparity is being acknowledged nationally, and diversity within the discipline is now broadening. In EOS, we are taking actions to foster inclusion, equity, diversity, and accessibility within our department and in our discipline.

We are revising our curriculum to center the experiences, histories, and contributions of historically excluded groups. In our classes, seminars, labs, and field work, we are diversifying the scholars we teach to include contributions from Black, Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Latino/a/x scientists. We recognize that EOS research has the power to provide, or deprive, communities of resources, policies, and regulation. There is value to different ways of knowing, as well as real-world benefits for having many voices contributing to science.

We offer many ways to get involved. EOS happens in the classroom, the laboratory, and the field, and our learning activities are designed to welcome all students to all these spaces. Our classrooms are accessible to all learners and are equipped with technology that assists learning. Our laboratories are designed for equitable access, including adjustable lab benches, chairs, and accessible hoods. Our microscopy lab has two large computer monitors that project microscope data in real time, and we have specialized glasses to enhance color spectra sensitivity. Course research projects use computation and modeling to address research questions using large datasets. We have developed labs at field sites that are more accessible. We have designed field protocols to foster a sense of community and to ensure safety for all participants.

We are opening up the canon of what we consider seminal research in our field. Earth science and oceanography have implications for communities around the world. Some of society’s greatest challenges include interpreting and predicting Earth’s response to climate change, all of which disproportionately impacts populations that over time have been segregated and marginalized to more vulnerable geographic areas. Both nationally and globally, Indigenous, Black, and Latinx communities are also disproportionately impacted by natural resource extraction. Addressing these issues will require the talents of many people who can contribute a wide range of insights and knowledge.

We are broadening the types of questions we ask, pushing past the boundaries of what has traditionally been considered science: What steps do we need to take to manage fresh water supplies for humanity now and in the future? How can we feed a growing population and provide a sustainable supply of energy? How does the current rate of change compare with the past, and what have been the consequences of change in the past? How do we help cultivate climate resilience, especially for those who are most vulnerable?

We are preparing students—as future scientists, policymakers, journalists, artists, and others—to address some of our world’s most pressing problems. Earth and oceanographic science is local and global; it is of the past, present, and future. It is a place where everyone belongs. We are committed to bringing Black, Indigenous, and other individuals who have been historically excluded from our discipline to the forefront of our study in classes, labs, seminars, and fieldwork, and to focusing on actions that will contribute to a future that is equitable and just.

How To Get Involved in EOS Research

How To Get Involved With The EOS Department

Beane, R., Baer, E., Lockwood, R., Macdonald, R.H., McDaris, J., Morris, V., Villalobos, J., & White, L., 2021. Uneven increases in racial diversity of US geoscience undergraduates. Communications Earth & Environment, 2: 126.

Beane, R., McNeal, K., & Macdonald, R. H., 2019. Probing the National Geoscience Faculty survey for reported use of practices that support inclusive learning environments in undergraduate courses. Journal of Geoscience Education, 67: 427-445.

Beane, R., Morris, V., and Baer, E. A conversation about the racial diversity of geoscience students. Webinar for the American Geophysical Union / American Geoscience Institute Heads and Chairs series. September 23, 2021. https://www.americangeosciences.org/webinars/conversation-about-racial-diversity-geoscience-students

Beane, R. and Sit, S., 2019. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Earth and Environmental Sciences: Supporting the Success of All Students. In the Trenches: the news magazine of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, v. 9. no. 3.

Jones, J.C., 2021. We Need Accomplices, Not Allies in the Fight for an Equitable Geoscience. AGU Advances, v. 2, issue 3, e2021AV000482.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021AV000482

Macdonald, R. H., Beane, R., Baer, E., Eddy, P., Emerson, N., Hodder, J., Iverson, E., McDaris, J., O’Connell, K., and Ormand, C., 2019. The Power of Faculty Change Agents to Promote Diversity and Inclusive Teaching Practices. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 67, p. 330-339

Nuernberger, K., McCarthy, H. Seidel, T.C., Jones, J.C., Lyons, A., Cadavid González, V., 2021. On Water, Equity, and Justice. Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community, no. 19. DOI: 10.24926/2471190X.8339
https://openrivers.lib.umn.edu/article/on-water-equity-and-justice/

Serrato Marks, G., Solomon, C. & Stack Whitney, K. (2021). Meeting frameworks must be even more inclusive. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5, 552. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01437-9

Serrato Marks, G. & Bayer, S. (2019) Our disabilities have made us better scientists. Scientific American: Voices.

July 2, 2020

We, the faculty and staff of the Earth and Oceanographic Science Department, stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. We share in the grief and outrage over the murders and violent acts against Black lives at the hands of the police, as well as the persistent criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.

We recognize that our field has benefited from the achievements, dedication, and hard work of Black, Indigenous and other people of color, even though this work has often been undervalued and unattributed. We understand that the science we teach, the science we do, and the scientists we amplify in our courses and our research have developed within a culture of white supremacy. The outcomes of our work have real world implications that can support or deny communities of important resources, policies, and regulation.

Some of our society’s grand challenges include developing a more robust, sustainable, and equitable energy supply; managing diminishing water resources; assessing risks from natural (and unnatural) hazards; and interpreting and predicting Earth’s response to climate change, all of which can disproportionately impact communities of color. Addressing these grand challenges will require the insight and talents of diverse people with diverse perspectives and ways of knowing. We commit to working on these challenges with our colleagues, our research partners, and our students.

Our work of understanding the system and culture of white supremacy that perpetuates and reinforces racial injustice is ongoing. We commit to creating space and dedicating time and resources toward intentional discussion of how racism has affected and continues to affect our science and our scientific communities. We commit to assessing our teaching and our practices to challenge the various ways these forces show up in the sciences and to work towards our objective of dismantling systemic racism in our field. We are committed to developing and regularly reflecting on a strategic plan of anti-racist actions that we will take to work towards this objective.

The work of Earth and oceanographic science is both local and global; it is of the past, present, and future. Our work requires observation, data collection, interpretation, and effective communication. We recognize that these seemingly objective skills are impacted by the lenses of our individual experiences. We further recognize that race, gender, sexuality, class, nationality, ability, power inequities, and the intersectionality of social and political identities affect our lenses and our experiences.

We are committed to expanding the scope of our lenses, centering the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in our classes, laboratories, seminars, and in the field, and focusing on actions that will contribute to a future that is equitable and just.

Earth and Oceanographic Science

A Place for All

DEI Publications and Presentations by EOS Faculty and Alumni

Additional Materials