Story by ESS Ph.D. student Claire Jensen.

Something as simple as an invitation to participate can change the course of an individual’s career and their impact on the geoscience community.

Wes Ward

In the summer of 1972 at the Colorado School of Mines, Dr. Randolph Bromery, with the Department of Interior, convened The First National Conference on Minority Participation in Earth Science and Mineral Engineering. Its goals were to increase participation of underrepresented groups and take steps toward eliminating discrimination in the Earth sciences. During his keynote address, Bromery emphasized the desperate need for recruitment: “We’re not only going to have to find minority people for the Earth sciences, but we’re going to have to change the environment they’ll be working in as well — so that not everyone has to be a pioneer.” (FNC report p. 7).

In the 1970s, Black students were rarely represented in geology graduate programs. A targeted effort to recruit Black graduate students to the UW Department of Earth and Space Sciences (then Department of Geological Sciences) brought several talented young scientists to the University of Washington, creating opportunities that would shape careers spanning government, industry and academia, and offering a lasting lesson about the power of recruitment.

The 1970s cohort

From 1971 to 1974, seven Black graduate students were invited to apply to the UW Department of Geological Sciences, five of whom entered in 1973. To better understand the outcomes, current ESS graduate student Claire Jensen and Professor Emerita Jody Bourgeois recently interviewed four of these students, asking about their experience, why they chose UW and their careers following graduation.

The 1973 cohort was no coincidence. Recruiting efforts were led by department chair John Whetten, who secured funding from oil companies and the U.S. Geological Survey and organized trips to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to attract Black graduate students. Multiple students from this cohort cite USGS and oil industry interest in hiring Black employees as key motivators for pursuing graduate degrees in geology.

Mike Pilson

Whetten traveled to the East Coast, including to Virginia State University (VSU), an HBCU, where he met faculty member and VSU geology department founder Mack Gipson. Four members of the 1970s cohort at UW matriculated from VSU. Throughout his career, Gipson served as a role model to the students he taught and worked to create spaces for underrepresented groups to connect, including being a founding member of the National Association for Black Geoscientists (NABG), an organization dedicated to connecting and uplifting Black geoscientists at every career stage.

Multiple UW graduates cite Gipson as a catalyst for pursuing graduate school, both directly at Virginia State University and through other channels. Toya Horn Howard, a student who enrolled at UW in 1974 and met Gipson at a conference, recalls the experience being like a lightbulb lighting up in her head.

“It’s just a matter of exposure. I was interested in geology, but then meeting Dr. Gipson — that was like, ‘bing!’”

Toya Horn Howard

Howard obtained her master’s degree in 1978 under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Eric Cheney, characterizing metamorphic rocks in Maine. Howard’s varied career includes time at Kerr-McGee, 20 years in banking and a law degree before finally settling into her current role as an independent travel advisor.

Whetten also reached out to local schools, including Washington State University, where he recruited 2025 ESS Distinguished Graduate Award recipient and ESS Advisory Board Member Wes Ward.

“I was (and still am) in awe of Chair John Whetten reaching out and inviting me to graduate school. I was given this tremendous opportunity, something I can never repay,” Ward said. He came to UW in 1973 to pursue his M.S. with Howard Coombs, Stu McCallum and Robert Bostrom, studying the petrology and chemistry of local basalt deposits. He completed his master’s degree in 1975, after which he pursued his Ph.D. with Steve Porter, Conway Leovy and John Adams, through which he studied aeolian deposits and landforms on Mars, completing the degree in 1978.

Wes Ward

The ‘70s cohort not only entered UW together but also was part of a tight-knit community, both on campus and around Seattle. When they weren’t hard at work, members of the cohort recall time spent drinking and dining at the local College Inn Pub (which some students lived above), roller skating at the IMA on weekend nights, soaking in the beauty of Washington on camping trips and attending Supersonics basketball games.

“I had great fun — studying geology and doing what I wanted with it, and then making a living. You just don’t know where your track will lead,” said Vicki Bryant Townsend. Bryant Townsend graduated in 1975 with her master’s degree, working with Bernard Evans to date garnets found in igneous rocks from Mt. Pilchuck. She worked at ExxonMobil in exploration and production geology until the oil bust, when she pivoted to focus on her children and local organizations. For the past 15 years, Bryant Townsend has worked with underserved kids, teaching them to read and participate in science fairs.

Literacy Now Houston

All four interviewees from the ‘70s cohort noted the importance of giving opportunities to everyone and actively recruiting the next generation. “If you don’t see yourself represented, go out and recruit somebody,” said Bryant Townsend.

Ward highlights the importance of those already in the field to open doors for the next generation: “We must keep creating opportunities for the next generation, including for those whose potential has too often been overlooked. Too many promising scientists from underrepresented groups have been left behind. Our responsibility is to support their curiosity and ambition, not discourage their hopes or redirect their efforts.”

An active member and past president of the NABG, Ward also led USGS Minority Participation programs in the Southwest. He is a recipient of the 2011 GSA Bromery Award, presented to any minority person who has “made significant contributions to research in the geological sciences, or those who have been instrumental in opening the geoscience field to other minorities.”

The importance of expanding opportunity was echoed by alum Mike Pilson.

“All people need is to have the pool open to all of us so that we can sink or swim,” he said.

Pilson completed his master’s in 1975, working with Harry Wheeler on characterizing coastal rock formations in California. He applied to graduate school, drawn by oil companies seeking to hire people with master’s degrees. After graduation, Pilson worked on offshore exploration, with work sending him to Azerbaijan, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Armenia and Türkiye, to name a few.

Looking forward

Despite increases in both the number of Ph.D.s earned and the U.S. population of Black people over time, the number of Ph.D.s earned by Black U.S. citizens in Earth science remained low from 1973 to 2016 (Bernard and Cooperdock, 2018). This trend is also apparent in UW ESS, in which, since 1971, fewer than 10 Black students have earned graduate degrees.

However, many pioneering geologists, conferences, professional networks and organizations are broadening participation in and contributions to the Earth sciences by people of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Black, disabled, Latina, Indigenous and women geoscientists.

One such conference is The Second National Conference: Justice in Geoscience (SNC). To address the lack of progress in diversity in geoscience since The First National Conference report was published in 1972, the SNC brought hundreds of geoscientists together in 2022 to reflect on, archive and advance work centered on improving the landscape for underrepresented groups in Earth science. The SNC has resulted in a documentary film, narrative accounts via art, music and zines, and the establishment of the 2072 writing team, who are contributing to the forthcoming 2072 Report, which will posit a roadmap for the next 50 years of diversity in geoscience.

A diversity of perspectives, experiences and approaches drives innovation, inspires new research questions and leads to more effective solutions to complex challenges. Ultimately, this ensures that our science better serves the people of Washington state and communities around the world.

Across the College of the Environment, recruitment and student success efforts span multiple stages of the educational pipeline. The College’s Office of Inclusive Excellence engages prospective students through national conferences such as the Advancing Indigenous Sciences and Engineering Society (AISES), the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/ Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and NABG, while partnerships such as Seattle MESA help middle and high school students explore and pursue STEM pathways. The College also supports students once they enter the geosciences through programs such as the Valiant Program, which helps first-generation students develop their scientific identities, explore career options, access opportunities and expand their professional networks. In addition, Inclusive Excellence Seed Grants have supported a variety of outreach and recruitment initiatives across the College.

Within the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, students and faculty contribute to these efforts through programs such as Rockin’ Out, an ESS graduate-student-led outreach program that engages K-12 students and the broader community in Earth science outreach and education.

Mike Pilson’s advice to geology students who don’t see themselves represented in their field is: “If you have a dream, go for it. You can do it regardless of whether people say you can or you can’t. Do what makes you happy. The only thing you have to lose is a little bit of time… and you’re going to lose that time whether you do something you like or whether you don’t do something you like.”