About Us

Geography and Earth Sciences faculty and staff at a recent summer retreat

our mission

Our current mission is to inspire discovery of the Earth and its inhabitants with a vision for an informed and diverse community that strives for a sustainable Earth and an equitable world. We create and disseminate knowledge of the Earth’s human and natural systems to adapt to an ever-
changing environment in which we live, work, and interact. Teaching and research coalesce around six areas with community engagement and justice/equity/diversity intertwined across them:

  • Human-Environmental Interactions & Sustainability
  • Global Change and Adaptation
  • Environmental Hazards and Health
  • Atmospheric and Earth Surface Geosciences
  • Urban Regions and Communities
  • GIScience and Geospatial Analytics

values and operating principles

The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences is composed of professionals who adhere to and promote the highest standards of academic integrity, professionalism and ethical conduct in the pursuit, creation, advancement and dissemination of scientific knowledge of human and natural systems. Accordingly, we:

A. Are a community in which each individual will be considerate, open minded and take responsibility for their own actions.
B. Maintain a professional, collegial, respectful, and inclusive community of faculty, staff and students.
C. Value all types of high quality research from all disciplines across the Department.
D. Value high quality teaching and mentoring across all disciplines.
E. Value and commit to shared faculty governance.
F. Actively support UNC Charlotte’s Service and Outreach Missions.
G. Actively embrace the multiplicity of diversity in our students, faculty, staff, communities and beyond.