About
Our Department is committed to advocating for and advancing the adoption of policies that create a welcoming culture and positive working environment for all students, faculty, and staff, and to advance UCSB’s Principles of Community. The Departmental ACCESS Committee (Access, Culture and Community for Earth Science Success) is charged with delivering on that commitment.
Our ethos is based on the principle that genuine meritocracy requires parity of opportunity and pathways for success to anyone with an interest and a drive to be an Earth Scientist. Access and support are integral to excellence in education and research. We strive to create new programs, and evaluate existing policies, to maximize opportunities and address structural hurdles that impact students, faculty, and staff.
We believe that the Earth Sciences should be accessible and welcoming to everyone, regardless of background. We recognize that the playing field does not start out level, and that individuals who are first generation, low income, veterans, returning/mature students, living with disabilities, or members of other impacted groups may face barriers that others do not, which can lead to discriminatory impediments to academic and professional success. We condemn the pernicious effect of hostile workplaces or learning environments—these are antithetical to our Department ethos. We aim to build a Department where all members can thrive and achieve their full potential.
Our ethos is based on the principle that genuine meritocracy requires parity of opportunity and pathways for success to anyone with an interest and a drive to be an Earth Scientist. Access and support are integral to excellence in education and research. We strive to create new programs, and evaluate existing policies, to maximize opportunities and address structural hurdles that impact students, faculty, and staff.
We believe that the Earth Sciences should be accessible and welcoming to everyone, regardless of background. We recognize that the playing field does not start out level, and that individuals who are first generation, low income, veterans, returning/mature students, living with disabilities, or members of other impacted groups may face barriers that others do not, which can lead to discriminatory impediments to academic and professional success. We condemn the pernicious effect of hostile workplaces or learning environments—these are antithetical to our Department ethos. We aim to build a Department where all members can thrive and achieve their full potential.
Land Acknowledgement
As a community that studies and appreciates the Earth we walk on and the landscapes around us, we must be mindful of and acknowledge those who have tended and lived on this land before us and still reside here today. We recognize that UC Santa Barbara currently occupies the unceded lands of the Coastal Chumash people, the traditional inhabitants and custodians of this territory. Among many lessons the Chumash can teach us, the principles of balance, sustainability, respect for, and relationship with, our natural environment are particularly urgent and inspiring today.