[Geoldept] You're invited to the URGE Workshop on Nov 8 & 10 from 4-5pm in ES 213!

[Mai Sas]

Hi GeoStudents!



The Department’s Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) Pod is holding a 2-part workshop on November 8th and 10th from 4-5 pm in ES 213, and you’re invited!



What’s the workshop about?

The plan for this workshop is to revisit the original URGE materials and then reflect on our priorities as a department, so we would especially love to have geology students participate and provide feedback.


Meeting 1 (Nov 8, 4-5 pm): Read, take notes, combine

  *   Split into groups, with which each room tackling one of the original URGE Units
  *   What were the main takeaways from the units?

  *   What did the deliverables call for?

Meeting 2 (Nov 10, 4-5 pm): Compare what you read to what we’re doing

  *   How are we addressing the issues raised in the URGE unit that you revisited?
  *   Which action items have been completed? Which action items are we working on?

  *   Are there any items that have been forgotten/neglected?





Wait, what’s URGE?

URGE a National Science Foundation-supported program that began in January of 2021 and consisted of eight 2-week units with four primary objectives: 1) Deepen the Geoscience community’s knowledge of the effects of racism on the participation and retention of People of Color in the discipline. 2) Draw on existing literature, expert opinions, and personal experiences to develop anti-racist policies and resources. 3) Share, discuss, and modify anti-racist policies and resources within a dynamic community network and on a national stage. 4) Implement and assess anti-racist policies and resources in Geoscience workplaces. You can find out more here: https://urgeoscience.org/



What has the WWU URGE Pod done so far?

Initial program: The initial WWU URGE Pod consisted of 16 Geology Department members (students, staff, faculty) who met to discuss literature readings and expert presentations associated with each of the 8 units, then came up with actionable tasks to improve inclusivity and accessibility within our department and ultimately impact department and university policies.

View the Pod’s completed deliverables from the initial program here:

https://urgeoscience.org/pods/western-washington-university-pod/

Watch an overview video of the work our Pod did during the original units here:

https://youtu.be/Lt8APbUjTYY



Since then: The initial action items were separated by theme and delegated to 7 working groups: Mentoring and Advising, Field Safety, Curriculum and Classroom Resources, Hiring and Recruiting, K-12 and Outreach, Developing Collaborations and Relationships with Local Indigenous Communities, Community Culture. Lots of work has been completed within the working groups and include significant modifications to the department website (including the bias report and equity and inclusion feedback form and trial resources page), quarterly department-wide social events, establishment of a student resources module for geology courses, establishment of the Graduate Student Success Committee, to name a few!



Can I join URGE?

Yes, we would love to have you! Your opinion as a student in our department is crucial for the success of our work, so please consider joining. If you’re interested but not too sure yet, we encourage you to attend the workshop and get a feel for what URGE is about.



Questions, comments, concerns? Contact Mai Sas at sasm at wwu.edu<mailto:sasm at wwu.edu> or Allison Pfeiffer at pfeiffa at wwu.edu<mailto:pfeiffa at wwu.edu>

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Mai Sas, Ph.D. (she/her)
Geochemistry Research Associate
Western Washington University
Geology Department, MS 9080
www.maysas.com<http://maysas.com/index.html>

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