Mission Statement

Our department’s mission is to “understand and protect our home in the universe,” and to further this mission, we strive to foster an inclusive culture of respect, collaboration, and openness–to new ideas, methodologies, perspectives, and experiences. We seek to achieve this by building support systems for students from underrepresented groups, maintaining open and honest dialogue to allow for positive departmental change, increasing engagement and outreach with the broader Los Angeles community, and more.