The overarching objective of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) is to contribute to the protection of Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable and just society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques, and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is central to our mission to ensure that each member of our community has full opportunity to thrive in our environment, for we believe that diversity is key to individual and societal success, educational excellence, and the advancement of knowledge.
In service to our core values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we commit to the following.
At SEAS, we believe in generating and enhancing the following:
REPRESENTATION: Address acute and systemic obstacles to full, equitable, and inclusive representation among SEAS faculty, staff, and students—especially with regard to racial and gender identity.
AWARENESS: Decolonize SEAS curricula, pedagogy, engagement, and professional learning, so that marginalized perspectives are featured, systemic oppression is not perpetuated, and no one is excluded from learning and collaborating by virtue of their identity.
RESEARCH: Align research processes, priorities and outputs with communities and stakeholders, to ensure that SEAS research centers equitable and positive social impact rather than academic prestige and extractive behavior.
SUPPORT: Develop mechanisms and norms for providing regular support—including physical, mental, and financial health—to all SEAS community members, acknowledging that everyone has different needs.
COMMUNICATION: Work to design transparent communication systems and foster dialogue in which everyone feels safe, biased language is not affirmed, and everyone feels comfortable sharing different understandings.
Our team is here to help with any questions or requests you may have. You may contact us at seas-dei-office@umich.edu.
In SEAS's commitment towards decolonizing and creating a more equitable world, we want to acknowledge and rectify the erasure and minimization of black and indigenous environmentalists in conservation. We commit to promoting prominent black environmental historians and authors through our coursework and programming.
