Photo caption:
Bianca Evans-Donaldson (Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and Anita Marshall along with her family at the Evening of Excellence for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Anita Marshall received the first-ever Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Award during an Evening of Excellence for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the Harn Museum. This award “Recognizes a faculty member’s contributions or efforts made toward enhancing the goals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and multiculturalism at the university thorough promoting a culture that enhances human dignity, diversity , and inclusion on campus.”
Anita’s efforts to increase accessibility to geosciences at the department, university, and national level have inspired many people to rethink the qualities and training required to produce outstanding geoscientist. Her dedication to this goal is apparent in her research, teaching, and service. Anita’s research focuses on breaking down the barriers that prevent people with disabilities, socioeconomic constraints, or family/personal situations from majoring in geological sciences. She has been extremely successful in garnering grant support to alter cultural attitudes and to make field camp more inclusive and accessible. Her NSF-funding GeoSpace (GeoScientists Promoting Accessible Collaborative Education) grant funds a two-week field experience in New Mexico that uses a technology-based approach to field work to connect physically-abled students working in the field with students who participate online (see UF Explore article). She mentored eight students in that program through the process of submitting a conference abstract and presenting posters at the Geological Society of American meeting last fall. She also teaches several very popular online introductory classes (‘Age of Dinosaurs’ and ‘Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and other Hazards’), as well as a new Quest course “Hazards and Humans.’ Her service contributions at UF include chairing the department DEI committee and serving on the UF Presidential Committee for People with Disabilities. Beyond UF, she is the Director of the International Association for Geoscience Diversity, a non-profit group that is working to celebrate the diverse abilities of all geoscientists and improve access and inclusion for people with disabilities. She is also currently completing a 1-year term on the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate Educations. It is clear that addressing issues of DEI is at the heart of everything Anita does professionally and that her efforts are creating a more equitable environment for people in the geosciences at UF and throughout the country.