Programs Supporting Minority Students in Geoscience

There are successful efforts to attract and support diverse students learning about the Earth in many institutions around the country. The profiles in this collection can serve as models and inspiration for departments and programs that aspire to broaden participation in the geosciences.

The browse below makes use of the US Federal Government's classifications of minority-serving institutions (MSI).



Results 1 - 10 of 39 matches

Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public, comprehensive university of over 21,000 students. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it is one of nine state-supported institutions in Kentucky's postsecondary system. The university was founded as a Normal school in 1906. Over time it evolved beyond its Teacher College roots to become, in 1966, a University with six distinct colleges. It is currently the largest four-year comprehensive university in Kentucky. The Geology program at WKU is part of the Department of Geography and Geology and WKU's Ogden College of Science and Engineering. The Department is one of the oldest at WKU with roots traceable back to WKU's early Teacher College years. The department has always had a strong connection to the cave and karst landscape of south-central, KY, including Mammoth Cave National Park; the karst resources of the region have been a major attraction and an important focus of the department's activities and its educational programs. The Department of Geography and Geology currently has 206 active majors among four programs: geography (61 majors), geology (63 majors), meteorology (70 majors) and geographic information systems (12 majors). The demographic make-up of the Department is similar to College of Science and Engineering; approximately two-thirds of the students are male and 80% of the students are white. These data differ from the University as a whole, which although predominantly white (79%), has more female undergraduate students (58%) than male students (42%).

Fort Valley State University: CDEP
Geoscience is not an available major at Fort Valley State and there is no Geology department. But participants in the Cooperative Development Energy Program (CDEP) can obtain a degree in geoscience from a partner institution in addition to a degree in Math or Chemistry from FVSU through its 3+2 dual degree transfer program. In addition, the program provides a number of support mechanisms for the participants, who are all members of underrepresented minorities or women.

University of California-Riverside
UCR is one of the most ethnically diverse universities in the US, ranked equal 12th by the US News & World Report in 2013. This situation reflects the commitment of the university to promoting and maintaining diversity, as well as the campus location within inland southern California. Overall, 38.4% of the undergraduate population in Fall 2012 identified as belonging to underrepresented ethic minorities (African-American, Latino/Chicano or Native American). The Department of Earth Sciences at UCR has existed, in various guises, since the founding of the university in the 1950s. Today, we have 56 undergraduate majors in our Geology and Geophysics programs.

Wayne State University
Support for our minority students is an integral part of both the Geology & the Environmental Science programs.

Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system located on the rural north coast, ~300 miles north of San Francisco. Campus demographics are changing rapidly to better reflect that of California. As Fall 2013, HSU was eligible for recognition as an Hispanic Serving Institution. The Geology Department has ~110 majors, ~10 of which are MS students, ~85 Geology BS/BA, and ~15 Geology BA-Geosciences Option. The Geosciences Option was revamped from a Geoscience Education Option that never gained viable enrollments in part due to changes in the Education program.

US State Dept, International Boundary and Water Commission
The USIBWC supports hiring individuals whose skill sets match our focus of work along the U.S.- Mexico border. We actively recruit on USAJOBS and with outreach to universities and our own staff. We hire many individuals with disabilities, veterans and minorities to keep a diverse pool of talent and cultures. We hire many Engineers for water, environmental and in house business operations and those in other critical skills. As part of this hiring I work with many students outside of work to help them in processing paperwork, education and teaching. My work is in the environmental field at the USIBWC but I also work with others at UTEP as I am developing a textbook on teaching the visually disabled geology. Our recruitment of those who are minorities, veterans and the disabled has increased over the last several years as we actively approach those with the skill sets to help in securing a Federal job.

California State University, Bakersfield
What are the demographics of your institution and do the students in the program reflect that? Of the 8,520 students matriculated at California State University, Bakersfield in fall 2012, 53% were from groups underrepresented in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics, with Hispanics at 45% the largest group, and Blacks and Native Indians making up another 8%. Fall 2012 undergraduate geology major demographics are 37% Hispanic, 2% Black, and 1% American Indian, a reasonably close reflection of the demographics of the university as a whole. How many majors? In Fall 2013, there were well over 100 undergraduate geology majors and about 45 graduate students. What degree programs are available in the department? BS Geology, BA Geology, MS Geology Is there a historical reason for the program's existence? The undergraduate program was originally a broad-based BS in Earth Science degree that was among the first programs offered when the university was founded in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, the program was changed to a more focused, traditional BS Geology degree to better meet the needs of employers in the region. The MS Geology program was also initiated in the mid-1980s at the request of employers and professionals in the region.

Central Wyoming College
Central Wyoming College is small (2000), rural community college situated with in the boundaries of Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR). The WRIR is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe tribes. The central campus resides in Riverton, with outreach centers in Lander and Jackson. We offer several geoscience transfer degrees (AS) as well as applied degrees (AAS), credentials and certificates. Many of our programs have been recently up dated to include a focus on workforce development. The geosciences programs are housed with in the Science department of the Health & Science Division, which also offers programs in biological and physical sciences, nursing and allied health. Our applied programs stem from a community need for trained workers in the oil and gas industry, and are guided by a community advisory board. Our transfer degrees are oriented to resource and environmental issues. One environmental degree collaborates with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), one of the largest employers in Lander. The number of students choosing one of our programs varies from 30 to three. We are making an effort to increase our recruiting efforts this year. AS - Earth, Energy, Environment - program options: Earth (traditional geology), Energy (oil and gas engineering), Environment (hydrology and environmental geology) and Geographic Information Systems. AS - Environmental Science and Leadership - includes a one-semester NOLS course AAS - Environmental Health and Safety - Environmental Technician Credentials and certificates: Environmental Technician, Water Quality Technician, Health & Safety Technician, Remediation Technician, GIS Technician

Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college in the Reformed tradition of historic Christianity. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the college has 4000+ undergraduate students from Michigan (52%) and other states and countries (48%). 10% of the student population are international students and 13% are AHANA (African-, Hispanic-, Asian-, and Native- American) students. Roughly 55% of the students are female. The Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies (GEO Department) offers 8 different majors including education and group majors. Environmental studies, geology, and geography majors are the most popular majors, enrolling 81 students in Fall 2013. The number of student majors has quadrupled since 2009, indicating a growing interest in the geoscience majors. Faculty numbers have remained the same through that time period; in 2013 there are six male and one female faculty with disciplinary expertise and active scholarship programs.

UNAVCO
Over the past 9 years, UNAVCO has supported 44 interns through Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students (RESESS), an NSF-funded multi-year, geoscience research internship, community support, and professional development program. Upper-division students from underrepresented groups spend 11 weeks in Boulder, Colorado during the summer conducting an independent, authentic research project under the guidance of a research mentor and the support of a communications mentor. RESESS interns are also mentored and supported after the summer program, and throughout the academic year by RESESS program staff. The primary goal of the RESESS program is to increase the number of historically underrepresented students entering the geosciences. The alumni of RESESS are 55% Latino/Hispanic, 27% African American/Black, 11% Native American, and 7% Asian American. Of the 30 interns who have earned a BS or BA, 13 are enrolled in a Masters program, and 8 are currently enrolled in a doctorate program. Nine RESESS alumni are working in private industry, five of those in the geosciences.