The Environmental Science Program at Wittenberg University is committed to cultivating and providing an inclusive and safe environment for our students, faculty, staff and the community partners we engage with regardless of physical ability, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, political views, religion, sexual orientation, gender, college-going family background, or other identities/intersections.
Our program has set enduring goals to uphold diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We will:
- Recruit and retain diverse faculty, students, and collaborative partners.
- Embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in our program planning.
- Engage with our students using teaching, grading, and cohort building styles associated with supporting student success, especially students from historically underrepresented groups.
- Provide all students with high impact research and community engagement opportunities that directly relate to environmental science careers and actively strive to grow and improve experiences.
- Help students that seek a major or minor achieve their goals, we understand that many enter our program with complementary interest in other science fields, business, policy, justice and sustainability.
Our program produces graduates who are more equipped to tackle environmental challenges into the future because it is welcoming of perspectives and endeavors to empower positive change in a social context. Environmental issues disproportionately impact historically marginalized people, and we believe that our graduates have a role in reducing inequities and injustices. As a program, we strive to be welcoming and commit to upholding an environment free of discrimination, harassment, exploitation, and intimidation.
To further meet our goals, we will:
- Circulate a survey with our Senior Seminar students to understand program climate concerns regarding diversity, equity, inclusion & accessibility. Ask for input and ideas to modify this statement and relevant program activities from our students during Senior Seminar.
- Explore our syllabi and look for opportunities to increase inclusive practices and representation of diverse authors in our materials.
- Draft and provide all students participating in field & research experiences with a code of conduct reinforcing ethical standards, anti-discrimination, and harassment by June 2021.
- Provide transparent criteria to our scholarship applicants that value the whole student and their motivation.
Finally, the Wittenberg Environmental Science Program stands with Black Lives Matters, condemning the racialized violence committed against the Black community.