|
Diversity Programs
URECAS: Unique Research Experiences for two-year College faculty And Students
URECAS, a new AGU program that received a planning grant from the National Science Foundation, is designed to support and foster two-year college students in their Earth and space science educational careers, including those who choose to transfer to four-year institutions, and to decrease the number of students who do not finish their two-year college degrees or succeed in transferring to and completing programs at four-year colleges. For outcomes and more on AGU’s new two-year college initiative, visit http://urecas.agu.org/outcomes/. Or, read more in our Eos article. If you have questions, contact principal investigators Pranoti Asher (pasher@agu.org) or Bethany Adamec (bhadamec@agu.org).
This workshop was supported by the National Science Foundation Geosciences Directorate (Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences award # 1201578).
Increasing Diversity in the Geosciences
The AGU Diversity Plan (May, 2002) outlines a comprehensive strategy for increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. This plan is being implemented through several programs:
- AGU’s Bright Students Training as Research Scientists or Bright STaRS is a program to bring about 100 high school students engaged in after-school and summer research projects in geoscience disciplines to annual AGU meetings to present their results.
- The Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Sciences (MS PHD’S) Program, directed by Dr. Ashanti Johnson (IBP), is an NSF/NASA funded program that provides mentoring, networking, and professional development opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in the geosciences.
- AGU convened the first Joint Society Conference on Increasing Diversity in the Earth and Space Sciences (IDEaSS Conference, 2003), bringing together 70 representatives of 26 scientific organizations and 6 federal agencies to discuss a formal resolution to collaborate (pdf) on increasing diversity in the geosciences.
Read more about AGU’s diversity programs: A Unified Approach to Diversifying the Earth Sciences (Karsten, Geotimes, 2003)
Resources Related to Increasing Diversity in the Earth and Space Sciences
Recent Reports
- From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce Hard Times: College Majors, Unemployment, and Earnings
- From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce The College Payoff
- From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce STEM
- From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce The Undereducated American
- From the Institute for Broadening Participation a Manual for Mentors and Mentees
- From the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce What’s it worth? The Economic value of College Majors
- From the National Academy of Sciences Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation
- Broadening Participation in America’s Science and Engineering Workforce (CEOSE 04-02, 2004)
- Broadening Participation in the Science and Engineering Faculty (NSF 04-41, 2003)
- Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Research and Education: Workshop Proceedings (NSF 04-72, 2003)
- Land of Plenty: Diversity as America’s Competitive Edge in Science, Engineering and Technology (CAWMSET, 2000)
- BEST (Building Engineering and Science Talent) is an initiative launched in September 2001 as a public-private partnership to follow through on the September 2000 recommendations of the Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development (CAWMSET).
Supporting Organizations
- Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)
- The International Association for Geoscience Diversity
- National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG)
- National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
- National Society of Hispanic Physicists (NSHP)
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
- AAAS NextWave Minority Scientists Network
- Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
- Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network
Other Resources
- AAAS Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity
- The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences (Mitchell C. Brown, Princeton)
- DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology
- NASA Southeast Regional Clearinghouse (SERCH) Space Science Resources for Special Needs Students