Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Values & Goals

Diversity 

We value diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, and class, as well as other identities.  We will continue efforts to manifest human diversity in all its dimensions.

Equity

We recognize unequal power relations.  Our goal is to address structural imbalances that privilege some identities and marginalize others.

Inclusion

We value all members of our community, and strive to recognize exclusions and marginalizations when we build community.

Justice

We recognize injustices and aim to empower those furthest from power.

Caring

As geographers, we practice ethics of care for our world and people in it, both near and distant.

Ongoing Practices

• We offer a minimum requirement undergraduate major, meaning the major is open to nearly all UW students.
• We consider diversity in hiring, recruitment, and retention. Visit the Department of Geography Affirmative Action Plan.
• Racial equity and diversity considerations in pedagogy and research have been central during our recent faculty hires, designed to combat implicit bias.
• We use a holistic approach to graduate admissions. Grad admissions now reflect the racial equity practices of our affirmative action plan for faculty hiring.
• We challenge one another to consider absences, erasures, and blindspots that prevent us from achieving more equitable outcomes.
• Our Geography Advising Office is a place where human rights are respected and where ALL students can come for help and support. Students are here because they belong here. They are welcome here. We will not support harassment, disenfranchisement, or discrimination. We will support all students.
• Our Geography Colloquium series invites a diverse group of early career scholars to disseminate their scholarship.
• We have had a Diversity Committee for over a decade.  It facilitates quarterly activities and practices to ensure social justice.
• Our teaching and research widely explores social exclusions and marginalization. Find more information from Department of Geography Research.
• We offer a seminar to incoming grads to introduce our facility and affiliates across the university, actively providing underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students with greater access to faculty diversity.
• We have periodically surveyed our community members to gauge climate and equity.
• We conduct externally facilitated workshops on departmental climate and equity.
• We hold quarterly check-in meetings between the Chair, Graduate Program Director, Director of Academic Services and graduate students.
• Faculty and staff regularly attend the Graduate School’s Equity and Justice Workshops.
• We invite graduate student representatives from Geography Graduate Students Association (GGSA) participate in faculty meetings.