Workshop Program

Strategies for Successful Recruitment of Geoscience Majors: Conceptual Framework and Practical Suggestions


View videos of the workshop presentations.


Prior to the workshop, we asked participants to fill out an online questionnaire about their department's recruitment strategies and concerns. Here is a brief summary of their responses.

9:00-9:15 Welcome, Introduction and Setting the Stage

Carolyn Eyles and Randy Richardson

9:15-9:45 Why is recruitment an issue?

National Recruitment Trends and Future Drivers (Acrobat (PDF) 844kB Oct28 07): Chris Keane, American Geological Institute

9:45-10:00 What motivates students to enter geoscience programs?

Discussion, led by Carolyn Eyles and Randy Richardson

10:00-10:45 Growing from the Inside: Successful Recruitment Strategies Internal to the Department/Institution

Getting Involved Early (Acrobat (PDF) 5.2MB Oct27 07): Anne Egger (Stanford University)
Cultivating a Relationship (PowerPoint 957kB Oct24 07): Rena Bonem (Baylor University)

10:45-11:00 REFRESHMENT BREAK

11:00-11:30 How will you know your recruitment efforts make a difference?

Small group discussion; report back to larger group

11:30-11:50 Looking Over the Walls: Successful Recruitment Strategies that Reach Beyond the Department/Institution

Raising Community Awareness (Acrobat (PDF) 2.4MB Oct28 07): Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat (North Dakota State University)

11:50-12:00 Wrap-up morning session

Carolyn Eyles and Randy Richardson

12:00-1:15 LUNCH

1:15-2:00 Looking Over the Walls: Successful Recruitment Strategies that Reach Beyond the Department/Institution

Recruiting Broadly: Aiming Beyond the Career Geoscientist (Acrobat (PDF) 57kB Oct28 07): Barb Tewksbury (Hamilton College)
Designing Attractive Programs (Acrobat (PDF) 1.8MB Feb27 08): Tim Bralower (The Pennsylvania State University)

2:00-2:15 REFRESHMENT BREAK

2:15-3:15 Develop Action Plans (Microsoft Word 30kB Oct25 07)

  1. What new plan/strategy/efforts would you like to implement in your setting?
  2. How will you assess the effectiveness of the plan/strategy/efforts?

3:15-4:15 Present Action Plans

Each participant has 2 minutes to present his or her action plan to the large group

4:15-4:40 Closing remarks and workshop evaluation

Carolyn Eyles and Randy Richardson