Strategic Plan

On this page you will find:

Strategic Plan (pdf)

Download the Bren School Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (pdf). This version was updated May 25, 2021. The strategic plan is a living document, updated regularly through feedback from members of the Bren School community and the adaptive management by the school’s administration and faculty.

Vision Statement for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Bren School’s mission is to solve environmental problems through research and training the next generation of environmental leaders. Low-income communities and communities of color face a disproportionate amount of environmental harm. To bring just solutions to the world’s critical environmental problems, such as climate change, conservation, and pollution, we need all voices and perspectives. 

The Bren School recognizes the role that academic institutions and environmental organizations have played in perpetuating inequality and racism. We recognize that these historic trends have also laid the foundation for modern-day inequalities and discrimination, particularly unequal access to and representation in professional organizations, careers, and the wider field of environmental science. 

At the Bren School, we believe that we must actively work for access and representation in the environmental field. We also recognize the important role that academic institutions play in presenting and teaching an inclusive vision of the field of environmental science and management. We recognize this position of power and privilege and seek to use this responsibly to help upend systemic racism.

The Bren School's ultimate goal is to be a vibrant, inclusive, and respectful community where the diversity of our students, staff, and faculty amplifies our ability to identify and solve environmental problems by: 

  • Becoming a leader in training diverse environmental professionals,
  • Actively recruiting, supporting, and retaining diverse students, staff, faculty, and visiting scholars,
  • Developing a welcoming environment so that everyone feels supported, represented, and included at Bren and the wider UCSB community,
  • Conducting research that addresses the inequitable ways that environmental risks are distributed, 
  • Teaching an inclusive and representative picture of the field of environmental science and management.
View from top floor of students milling about in courtyard

History

The Bren School’s Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is a living document, updated regularly through feedback from members of the Bren School community and the adaptive management by the school’s administration and faculty. We refine and adjust the strategic plan as we learn and grow as individuals and as a community. 

  • Spring Quarter 2021. Associate Dean Sarah Anderson reached out to Bren alumni, particularly the Bren Alumni and Students of Color Association (BASCA), to solicit their feedback on the draft strategic plan.
  • Winter Quarter 2021. Dean Steve Gaines invited current Bren students to share their comments on the draft strategic plan. 
  • November 20, 2020. Bren faculty participated in a retreat to develop and refine the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
  • November 19-20, 2020. 4-hour training on microaggressions and white privilege for Bren faculty and staff to better understand the context in which the strategic plan was needed.
  • May 15, 2020. Original date for Bren faculty retreat to develop and refine the Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; postponed due to COVID pandemic.
  • 2019-2020. Meetings by faculty and staff leaders from Diversity and Recruitment, Admissions, and Support (RAS) committees to identify priorities for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Bren School. Based on experience with admissions, recruitment, student advising, and faculty and staff hiring and retention, this ad hoc group developed a suite of priorities that became the basis for the draft strategic plan. Members of this ad hoc group were Sarah Anderson, Kristine Duarte, Chris Costello, Hunter Lenihan, Kelly Keogh, and Satie Airame.

 

Completed Trainings and Activities

  • Workshops offered through the California Consortium for Inclusive Education (C-CIDE) 
  • Environmental Justice Symposium (2020, 2021)
  • Search for a lecturer to teach environmental justice in the MESM program
  • Workshop on Diversifying Graduate Admissions through the California Consortium for Inclusive Education. Facilitated by Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Sarah Anderson.
  • 4-hour faculty and staff training on microaggressions and white privilege

Contact Us

For more information, contact the Bren School’s Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or any member of the Diversity Committee. 

Comments and Suggestions

You can help the Bren School make change and address concerns by clearly identifying problems and suggesting changes. Please submit comments, concerns, and suggestions to the Bren School Online Suggestion Box. This suggestion box form is reviewed regularly by Bren staff; you may submit your name but you have the option to remain anonymous.

If you are a student and would like your comments to go directly to student representatives only, please submit to the Anonymous Suggestion Box. Student representatives will relay the information to the Diversity Committee.

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