Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan



The College of Geosciences is committed to building a climate that supports a culture of equity and inclusion at Texas A&M University. For the college to be a national leader, we must actively dismantle histories of systemic racism that have resulted in the exclusion of racially minoritized and marginalized individuals in the geosciences. To advance this work, it is vital that the College center the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion across all that we do. Cultivating this learning environment positions us to build a community where all students can thrive and where varied perspectives come together to advance scholarship that reflects our diverse nation and world's needs.
This objective requires a sustained, comprehensive, and lasting commitment to anti-racism. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan frames the vision, goals, and strategies that will serve as the College of Geosciences efforts' roadmap over the next five years. Building our longstanding commitment to this work, this plan serves as a springboard for our next phase of these initiatives. This work is situated to speak to and expand upon the strategic initiative- Foster a Community of Diversity, Inclusion, and Respect in which Everyone Achieves Their Potential.
Key terms and Acronyms
BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, People of Color
Racially Minoritized: This term is used to capture Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American students, faculty, and staff. The term is utilized to identify the process of racial minoritization, the social construction of different power and representation compared to other groups within society.
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Timeline
This plan provides a multi-year agenda for the College of Geosciences. As such, the items have been categorized based on short (1 year), medium (2-3 years), and long term (3+ years) timelines.
Responsibility
Advancing a climate of equity and inclusion is the responsibility of every member of the college. It requires coordinated efforts from across the college and the university to maximize impact. Leadership for this implementation resides with the College Diversity Committee, the Assistant Dean for Diversity, and the Dean.
Goal #1
Build a culture of inclusion- Create a more welcoming, respectful, and inclusive climate for all.
Tactic 1.1: Utilize existing structures to provide collegewide ongoing training to faculty, staff, and graduate students.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.2: Advance inclusive teaching through the curation of a library of teaching resources (e.g., Step-in Interventions, syllabus review for inclusion of diverse and historically oppressed voices, etc.) and the cultivation of department-level experts.
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 1.3: Enhance the Diversity Series to engage university experts to provide training around DEI.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.4: Establish informal faculty and staff learning communities to support ongoing professional development
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.5: Launch a one-book program to introduce all students to topics of environmental justice and equity in the geosciences.
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.1: Embed questions related to DEI efforts into faculty and staff annual evaluations.
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 2.2: Build an inventory of efforts that faculty and staff can undertake to address DEI in their respective units
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.3: Provide training and support for managers to effectively evaluate and guide employees in these efforts
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 2.4: Launch mechanisms to recognize and reward exemplary effort related to DEI.
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 3.1: Embed common equity, inclusion, and sense of belonging questions in course evaluations.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 3.2: Develop a common set of equity, inclusion, and sense of belonging questions for the end of program evaluations.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 3.3: 3.3 Review and report university-wide graduate survey data to further illuminate questions of equity, inclusion, and sense of belonging
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 4.1: Identify collegewide ombuds serve as a primary point of contact
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 4.2: Build a multi-tier programming (modeled after the Cup of Coffee program at the College of Medicine) to increase awareness about incident reporting and provide timely follow up as incidents arise.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 4.3: Develop mechanisms to report metrics on racial bias incidents annually
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 4.4: Provide faculty, staff, and students with training regarding how to report racial bias incidents and an understanding of the process once a report is filed.
Timeline
- Short-term
Goal #2
Increase the representation and retention of diverse students, faculty, and staff across the college. Promote the development and implementation of recruitment strategies that work to address bias and advance promising practices to increase the representation of underrepresented individuals.
Tactic 1.1: Remove the GRE from admission requirements and merit scholarship
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.2: Cultivate partnerships with TAMU system schools and in-state schools that serve a large proportion of racially minoritized students
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 1.3: Support AGU bridge participation
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 1.4: Outreach to high schools and community programs that target BIPOC students
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.1: Utilize the Geosciences Future Faculty Post-doctoral program to recruit exemplary BIPOC applicants
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.2: Engage in the university-wide ACES program to recruit two BIPOC faculty
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.3: Increase transparency and availability of DEI tools for all faculty hiring
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.4: Enhance structures to diversity outreach and cultivate more diverse pools for faculty searches
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.5: Update evaluation rubrics to include and value diverse pathways to and through higher education.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 3.1: Support the development of a student chapter of the National Association of Black Geoscientist and other student organizations that support BIPOC students
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 3.2: Identify formal mentoring opportunities for undergraduate BIPOC students to augment the existing first-year experience and student organization programming.
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 3.3: Develop training and tools to enhance graduate student mentoring collegewide, focusing on supporting BIPOC students and cultivating a climate of inclusion for all students
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 3.4: Develop collegewide mentoring programming targeted at BIPOC postdocs and early career faculty
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 3.5: Identify strategies to engage with other colleges to increase networks for community and collaboration
Timeline
- Medium
Goal #3
Enhance undergraduate experience to support exposure to questions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism for all students.
Tactic 1.1: Develop and implement additional modules for first-year experience courses
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.2: Identify opportunities across each degree plan to introduce these topics (e.g., common introductory course, corner-stone course, etc.)
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 1.3: Identify opportunities for all students to take courses, such as environmental justice or race in the geosciences, to create a shared foundation and engagement in DEI topics
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 1.4: Develop frameworks for considering inclusion and diverse identities in course development
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 1.5: Maintain existing strategies and cultivate new tools to maintain an attentiveness to field work opportunities with a focus on addressing diversity and equity.
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.1: Develop partnerships with student organizations to promote DEI efforts
Timeline
- Long-term
Tactic 2.2: Launch and deploy student-focused diversity training that engages university experts and programming.
Timeline
- Long-term
Goal #4
Celebrate and highlight the efforts of BIPOC scholars both within the college and nationally.
Tactic 1.1: Develop and launch an interdisciplinary diversity seminar series focused on engaging BIPOC scholar, scholars with a focus on environmental justices or DEI work within the geoscience
Timeline:
- Medium
Tactic 1.2: Establish a fund to provide honoraria and other support to diversify department, lab, and unit level seminars.
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.1: Build communication materials centering anti-racism and social justice in the geosciences
Timeline
- Medium
Tactic 2.2: Identify opportunities to celebrate the diversity of cultures and lived experiences across the college.
Timeline
- Short-term
Goal #5
Transparent and timely collegewide communications related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Tactic 1.1: College diversity website to serve a primary site to communicate DEI efforts
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 1.2: Increase engagement in DEI initiatives through bi-annual college town hall meetings
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.1: Develop department DEI goals
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.2: Increase engagement and accountability in department DEI goals through annual department updates
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.3: Support the annual collection and dissemination of department-level DEI data to maintain attentiveness to department-level challenges
Timeline
- Short-term
Tactic 2.4: Continue funding programs targeting department-level strategies to address DEI agenda
Timeline
- Short-term