Geological Science and Engineering

GSGE Statement 

August 1, 2020 – The events over the last few months have made it clear that serious and systemic racial injustices and violence are being committed against Black people, Indigenous peoples, and minorities in Canada and elsewhere. We at the Queen’s University Geological Science and Geological Engineering Department condemn anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, and the biases embedded in academic life. Addressing past and ongoing violence and discrimination against people of all communities - including, but not limited to, members of the Black, Indigenous, LBGTQ+, lower income, disability, and faith-based communities - requires both immediate action and continuous work, and we are committed to working towards building a welcoming and supportive environment for all members of these communities.

Our Commitment 

The GSGE Department recognizes that action is required, and we are taking the following steps:

• We have formed a departmental Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Committee in order to look into systems of oppression in our own department and to promote the creation of a more equitable and diverse community. We invite members of the community to provide feedback and volunteer to contribute to this committee, and our efforts.
• We will write and establish a Code of Conduct to ensure discriminatory behaviours are not acceptable in our department.
• We will commit to self-education and to listening about past and current racial injustices in geoscience and geological engineering.
• We will actively work to create opportunities for diverse groups to learn and engage in geoscience and geological engineering education and research considering equity and sustainability.

Our actions will speak louder than our words.

EDI Committee Updates 

October 20th, 2020 Meeting Highlights:

• Finalizing survey on hiring practices to be sent to faculty 
• Finalizing survey to be sent to graduate students 
• Confirming undergraduate student representative in the group
• Planning of department-wide Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Training
• Integrating sustainable resource development and relationship building as core knowledge components of an undergraduate degree
• Plan to have code of conduct drafted prior to next meeting