Give
The Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences depends on the generous support of our friends and alumni. With over 40 faculty, 15 postdoctoral scholars, 75 graduate students, and 140 undergraduates, our department is making a difference through education, research, and outreach like never before. However, state funds and tuition revenue only cover a portion of the costs required to provide financial support for undergraduate and graduate students, to enhance their educational experiences in both the classroom and the field, to provide professional development opportunities, and to recruit and retain faculty at the top of their fields.
Your support helps us achieve these goals. The creation of this new department presents exciting new research and educational opportunities, and we are poised to make a bigger impact. Below is a brief list of ongoing and future initiatives for which private support plays a key role:
- Recruiting the very best undergraduate and graduate students, and lowering the barriers for students to pursue their education
- Providing students with experiential learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom
- Launching a new undergraduate degree program in marine science
- Expanding professional development and science communication training for students
- Retaining and supporting our world-class faculty
Giving Opportunities
The Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences Fund
Gifts to this unrestricted fund enable the department chair to support activities and initiatives across the department, including career development, community outreach, innovative classroom experiences, and student achievement. Make a Gift Now
The Roberts-Watson Family Environmental Scholars Fund
Gifts to this endowed fund help provide financial support for undergraduate students with a declared major in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences or the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program, who will enhance the diversity, equity and inclusivity of the department. This fund provides scholarships for students during the academic year and additional support for these scholars to have summer research opportunities with faculty researchers. Preference is given to candidates with financial need. Make a Gift Now
Ways to Give
Online
Online giving to the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences is easy and secure. Above are examples of funds you can support in the department. You may also visit give.unc.edu and search for additional funds by name.
Give by Mail
If you prefer to give by mail, please make the check payable to “Arts & Sciences Foundation, Inc.” with the name of the fund you would like to support in the memo line and mail to:
The Arts and Sciences Foundation
asf@unc.edu
919.962.0108 (Tel)
Matching Gifts
More than 1,000 corporations and businesses have programs to match employee gifts. Employer matching gifts can double or triple your gift to Carolina. Many matching gift companies will also match gifts by spouses and retirees as well as employees. Use our online database to find out if your company will match your gift and how to apply.
If you have any questions about gifts to the department, donating to a specific fund, or making estate or stock gifts, please contact:
The Arts and Sciences Foundation
asf@unc.edu
919.962.0108 (Tel)
Facilitating Undergraduate Research
How are floods changing across the Southeastern US? Thanks to a generous gift from Charlie & Elaine Mims, undergraduate Sarah Brannum (BS Geological Sciences, 2021) was able to get her hands dirty through field experience to look at this question as part of her honors thesis in Dr. Antonia (Toni) Sebastian’s lab. By deploying instruments from her kayak, Sarah measured river characteristics and flow rates along the New River in Eastern North Carolina.
Facilitating Graduate Research
Many pages of Earth’s climate history lay hidden beneath the beautiful and fragile coral reefs of the tropical oceans. Due to a generous donation from the Martin Family, doctoral student Hunter Hughes is uncovering these hidden climate signals in a near-century-old coral from Bocas del Toro, Panama. Leveraging international collaborations from three universities, Hunter is utilizing state-of-the-art equipment to reveal what this coral can tell us about dynamic interactions between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Why I Give: Supporting Our Communities
“Coming from a family of educators, I know how difficult it is for K-12 teachers to integrate new discoveries and ideas in their day-to-day lessons. While at UNC studying coastal geology, I co-founded the SciREN outreach program where we connect local researchers with local educators to get new science into North Carolina classrooms. This program has expanded throughout NC and brings the latest earth, marine and environmental sciences into thousands of classrooms. I give to EMES to support this program, now in its 10th year and facilitated by EMES graduate students.”
Justin Ridge, PhD (2017)
