Geography Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Students, staff and Faculty in the Department are welcome to contact any member of the Department's Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee with equity-related questions or concerns.

Committee Members

Prof. Sarah Turner (Committee Chair)

Prof. Genevieve Ali (Earth and Planetary Sciences liaison)

Cristina Gandásegui (Student Association of Sustainability, Science and Society, student representative)

Shir Gruber (Geography Graduate Society, student representative)

Michelle Maillet (Undergraduate Advisor, staff representative)

Prof. Kevin Manaugh

Prof. Raja Sengupta

Hannah Zhao (McGill Undergraduate Geography Society, student representative)

Mandate and Terms of Reference

Geography Undergraduate Research Award (GURA) for students of Black Heritage, 2025

In association with the Faculty of Science and Provost’s initiative on Anti-Black Racism (ABR), the Department of Geography is offering one Geography Undergraduate Research Award (GURA) for Undergraduate students of Black Heritage who are enrolled in a BSc, BA&Sc or BA degree program (Honours, Major, Interfaculty Program or Minor) under the Department of Geography. The student should be interested in carrying out a full time summer research project with a faculty member in the Geography department. Both domestic and international McGill students may apply, and on the supervisor side, the award is not restricted to professors who hold research grants. Students at all undergraduate levels are encouraged to apply. Many undergraduates say that their summer research experience allowed them to understand their courses better, changed their academic and professional direction, or was the best part of their undergraduate degree.

GURAs are a 15-week-long paid ($6000) internships that will place students in a research setting (human or physical geography) or in the field to conduct hands-on research. No research experience is necessary; however, students should make contact with a Geography faculty member who agrees to supervise them. Applicants will be evaluated based predominantly on a short essay, and a faculty member’s commitment. 

Application deadline: April 21st, 2025

Statement regarding Black Lives Matter (2020)

The Department of Geography, McGill University firmly denounces all racism and racial violence and stands in solidarity with members of the Black community. We are deeply concerned with the violence and recent events in Canada and the US. We recognize that these events are not isolated and in Canada are situated in our country’s long history of violence against Visible Minorities and Indigenous Communities. Read our full statement from June 2020 here.

Statement on Appropriate Relationships among Faculty, Staff, and Students (2018)

In 2018 the Equity Committee wrote the following statement that was approved by the Department faculty, in response to events at different Canadian universities that have brought the issue of sexual harassment and violence front and center in the public domain. Read our full statement from September 2018 here.

This statement will be reviewed yearly by the Department’s Equity Committee.

Equity at McGill

McGill’s Equity Office is firmly committed to advancing and implementing inclusive excellence. Through activities focused on education and policy development, the Equity Team works to build and sustain a campus community that understands and works to dismantle the varied social barriers that can stand in the way of access to and success within higher education.

Other useful resources and services at McGill University

People to reach out to:

• The Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (OSVRSE) provides confidential, non-judgmental and non-directional support and education to students, faculty and staff of all genders who have been impacted by sexual violence. 
• The Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Student Society (SACOMSS) is a volunteer-run organization committed to supporting survivors of sexual assault and their allies through direct support, advocacy, and outreach. Their services include Drop-In and Line (DIAL), Support Groups, Advocacy, and Outreach. Additionally, they offer sexual assault sensitivity training to McGill and Montreal groups, provide information and referrals, and organize events to raise awareness about sexual assault.
• The Office of Mediation and Reporting (OMR) is responsible for receiving and responding to formal reports of discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence against members of the University community. The OMR offers confidential consultations to all members of the University community (students, staff, and faculty) to provide information on reporting processes as well as relevant University resources, support services, and training.
• The Office of the Dean of Students (for students).
• The Office of the Ombudsperson (for students).
• The McGill Equity Office's Harassment, Discrimination & Sexual Violence webpage provides a detailed list of further resources and support services (for students and staff).
• The McGill Equity Office's Reporting Webform for Incidents of Doxxing, Intimidation, or Discrimination allows members of the McGill community to report incidents in a safe and confidential manner. Such reports may raise concerns about conduct by students, faculty, staff, or persons hired to work on campus on a temporary or contract basis (e.g., security agents). To report here, the incidents in question must have occurred within the “McGill University Context” and where both the affected party and the respondent are members of the McGill Community.

Policies and other information can be found at the following links:

• McGill University Mission Statement and Principles
• McGill University Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Strategic Plan 2020-2025
• McGill University Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism 2020-2025
• McGill Policy On Harassment And Discrimination Prohibited By Law
• Harassment and Discrimination reporting process (Office of Mediation and Reporting)
• McGill Policy against Sexual Violence
• Sexual Violence reporting process (Office of Mediation and Reporting)
• Handbook on Student Rights and Responsibilities, Policy on Conflicts of Interest in Academic Supervision and Evaluation