The members of the Department of Marine Sciences at UGA envision a diverse, egalitarian, and just department, where all members of our community feel welcome and able to learn, explore, create, and contribute to the advancement of research, teaching, and service in marine science. We imagine a department where the contributions of everyone improve and accelerate progress in our understanding of the ocean. In an effort to foster a diverse, egalitarian, and just department, a committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was created during the summer of 2020. Our mission and member information is below: Mission Statement: The overall mission of this committee is to address issues of discrimination, including exclusion, inequity, and racism in the UGA Department of Marine Sciences community. This mission includes: providing a safe space for people to discuss the impact of discrimination on their ability to progress toward individual , lab group, and departmental goals; insuring an equitable approach to pedagogy within the department; promoting understanding of anti-racism at the individual and departmental level; building long term relationships with other DEI stakeholders in the UGA community and society; increasing opportunities that financially support a more diverse community; To enhance through these efforts, the diversity of students, staff, and faculty working at UGA Marine Sciences; and ultimately, fostering a climate of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our community Efforts carried out by the DEI committee are driven by six focused subcommittees: Community Relationships and Resources Curriculum and Programming DEI Training for students, faculty, and staff Fund Raising Lab Climate and Peer Mentoring Student Life