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7. Increase diversity and inclusion of all Americans in STEM programs, including women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and people in rural areas.  

This is one of the biggest issues for the geosciences and I recommend it as a top priority. We have an abysmal record for recruiting and retaining people of color and students from under-represented minorities. I think it would be great to collate best practices for maximum inclusivity and then disseminate those practices to the wider community for maximum efficacy. We'll know where there when an average group of geologists looks more or less like an average group of Americans.

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Please also mention "people in urban areas" along with "people in rural areas." For geosciences, students from urban areas can present a distinctive set of educational challenges, as they may have had less life experiences with natural processes than other students.

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We also need to address the belief gap. While we are always learning new things about the Earth and how it works, we need to encourage people not familiar with research into evolution, climate change, and other areas that make some people uncomfortable, that those findings need to be taken seriously.

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Originally Posted by Michael Phillips


We also need to address the belief gap. While we are always learning new things about the Earth and how it works, we need to encourage people not familiar with research into evolution, climate change, and other areas that make some people uncomfortable, that those findings need to be taken seriously.


I couldn't agree more. I struggle with this.

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Please be sure to think broadly when engaging students and members from under-represented groups in science/geoscience and link with their families and communities. It's really important to have conversations about *why* we need to include everyone in the scientific enterprise as well as how science and earth science education helps people within their communities.

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