ABSTRACT

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

Society is facing significant environmental challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and contamination, resource depletion, major changes in global energy production, and the long-term ecological impact of population growth. Mitigation of these issues requires a diverse, globally-integrated professional workforce with a strong background in applied geosciences. To meet the need for more geoscientists, the field must broaden its search for future geoscientists by purposefully recruiting individuals from historically excluded groups. The primary objective of this program is to recruit, train and foster career success among individuals from these groups in western Wisconsin and Minnesota. This program establishes a progressive, multi-phase intentional educational pathway designed to maximize student engagement and retention in the geosciences through high-impact practices, hands-on learning, and dedicated mentorship. The bridge program is a week-long Summer Institute in Applied Geoscience based at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire that will use inquiry-based activities in the natural setting of the Upper Midwest to introduce prospective undergraduate students to the relevance of the earth sciences and potential geoscience careers.

This program has the potential for long-term, significant enhancement in the diversity of the Department of Geology and the University through the establishment of pipelines between UW-Eau Claire and regional high schools serving students from historically excluded populations. The proposed pathway entails 1) recruitment of high school juniors into a summer bridge program; 2) matriculation to UW- Eau Claire; 3) participation in a Foundational Research Experience immediately prior to their 1st year of college; 4) a college experience characterized by intentional peer and faculty mentoring and high-impact practices, and 5) career development. The project will directly involve at least five Department faculty and staff, including an Early Career female geoscientist, eighteen (18) undergraduate students, and a number of UW-Eau Claire co-curricular staff over a three-year period. This team will work with ~54 high school students and ~9 high school science teachers from western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota during the project. Importantly, the strong equity, diversity, and inclusivity framework at UW-Eau Claire will be leveraged to continue this outreach program beyond the life of the grant.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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