Diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging 2022

In 2022, Director Sara Baer led an internal review of several realms of our research center—including diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB)—to identify short- and long-term goals. Results from the survey led to the creation of a DEIB Goals and Actions Framework that describes immediate steps, constant work, and challenges to fostering a more equitable and inclusive environment experienced by students and faculty.



The framework includes five goals, with as many as a dozen identified tasks within each; below are the goals and just a few of the completed tasks.

• Define and clarify our center’s DEIB goals and expectations—We developed a center-wide DEIB Vision Statement (inside front cover of this report)—a baseline for development of a web page on our full DEIB plan—and a Code of Conduct for the KU Field Station.
• Increase recruitment of underrepresented groups in all position classifications—We now compose all recruitment material and job advertisements in inclusive ways and include our DEIB statement. Individual labs also actively recruit from underrepresented groups.
• Reduce financial burden to achieve DEIB goals—We encouraged all labs to offer a minimum $15/hour wage to undergraduates; created an internal allocation in the KBS-CER F&A budget to assist graduate students from low-income families who are moving to Lawrence; and limited using reimbursement for travel, instead paying costs to the maximum extent using KU procurement cards.
• Cultivate a DEIB-conscious research community—We maintain a DEIB committee with representation from all career stages and diverse backgrounds, and we have offered and held several group trainings through KU. We also have made it a priority to Communicate our DEIB efforts to our community (newsletters, annual report, webpage).
• Improve accessibility and inclusiveness of our facilities—We are working with KU to take steps to make our front entrance wheelchair-accessible, and we designated gender-neutral restrooms within Higuchi Hall and at the KU Field Station’s Armitage Center.

Everyone at KU, including our researchers and staff, is expected create a safe and welcoming environment for all. Employees are required to complete KU training modules in Preventing Sexual Harassment and Discrimination, and in Diversity and Inclusion.

Our individual labs are committed to creating safe spaces for all members, including students, to share ideas and points of view, and many researchers have taken additional courses offered by KU and other sources incompassionate communication, Safe Zone training and other topics related to DEIB.

Our researchers are actively recruiting, mentoring and writing grants to provide support for individuals from groups historically underrepresented in ecology. Students in our labs have diverse lived experiences, and such diversity is not necessarily visible. Several researchers have longstanding relationships with Haskell Indian Nations University, providing internships and other opportunities, and with KU students from Natives Tribes.



As part of annual self-reporting, our researchers are asked to share specific actions taken in support of DEIB. Many of these actions are a matter of everyday routine; and some involve accommodation of varying degrees and are of a private nature. While the list of efforts is far too long to include in full in this publication (nearly 50 specific efforts reported), we can share general information and some examples:

• Maggie Wagner, assistant scientist and assistant professor of EEB, as a member of the research center’s DEIB Committee, took the lead in researching and communicating DEI issues specific to the context of fieldwork, a major part of many of our colleagues’ research programs.
• Researcher Peggy Schultz works directly in Title I elementary classrooms as part of outreach program Schultz developed that fulfills outreach component of multi-department $20M grant.
• Dana Peterson, assistant research professor, led the “Earth as Art” session at a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) event in Denver attended by 73 middle and high school students from the American Indian Academy of Denver and Compass Academy who attended to learn about Earth observations and remote sensing through interactive, hands-on exhibits. The event took place at the PECORA 22 Symposium in October hosted by AmericaView (Peterson is PI of member KansasView) with U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, NOAA, and Bently.
• Kelly Kindscher, senior scientist and professor in KU's Environmental Studies, program, continued to work with regional Tribes and Nations, working with the Omaha and Arikara tribes on ethnobotany projects and obtaining a new grant from the Osage Nation for ethnobotany work with their staff.
• Liz Koziol, assistant research professor, served as mentor to a student in the Emerging Scholars (ES) program, which provides research experiences for low-income students their first year at KU and supports their overall transition to college.
• Sharon Billings, senior scientist, Dean's Professor and University Distinguished Professor of EEB, was invited to give a workshops at an NSF-funded Research Coordination Network Critical Zone workshop in Colorado. The event was specifically geared to expanding participation in CZ science; Billings developed and implemented workshop on tree sapflux measurements to graduate students.