Workshop Overview

Teams, particularly from minority-serving institutions, will gain assistance and develop action plans for incorporating the inter-related issues of Coastal Hazards, Risk and Environmental Justice into their curriculum and campus programs while discussing how to increase success of all students in their programs.

Participants will hear from leaders in the field, share current activities at participating institutions (such as the keynote by Dr. Maureen Lichtveld of the Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health Research, Leadership, and Strategic Initiatives ( This site may be offline. ) ), and brainstorm both within and across institutional teams. In an optional pre-workshop field trip on the afternoon of May 20th, we will explore parts of post-Katrina New Orleans from an environmental justice perspective.

Participants will learn about the InTeGrate project and the curricular resources and other assistance it provides. These resources include funding for projects to implement activities following up from the workshop and to help institutions to achieve other goals consistent with InTeGrate goals.

Ideally teams will be multi-disciplinary and include two or three faculty members, department chairs, sustainability coordinators or other individuals from a community college, college or university (or multiple institutions from a community). The teams will work together and learn from other teams as they develop a written action plan that they will bring back to their institutions and carry out. Some funds from the InTeGrate project will be available on a competitive basis for workshop follow through.

Preference will be given to teams that show institutional commitment to supporting post-workshop follow up activities. We expect to accept around 30 participants total for the workshop.

Workshop Goals

To help participants

Explore the interplay among Coastal Hazards, Risk and Environmental Justice with emphasis on the Gulf Coast region.
Discuss how these issues are and can be presented in courses and curriculum in the earth system sciences and other fields
Learn about InTeGrate resources – materials, collections, web resources, courses, modules, workshops, the 2015 Earth Educators Rendezvous, potential funding opportunities for follow-on activities, etc -- and discuss how they can be used to advance institutional and project goals.
Develop action plans for incorporating the inter-related issues of Coastal Hazards, Risk and Environmental Justice into their curriculum and campus programs in order to advance programmatic and institutional goals to strengthen the enrollment and success of diverse students in their programs

Dates

The workshop will begin at 5:00 PM on May 20, 2015 with a reception and dinner and conclude at 2:00 PM on May 22, 2015. Please arrange your travel so that you can be present for all sessions from opening to closing. There will be an optional pre-workshop field trip in the afternoon of May 20th, exploring parts of post-Katrina New Orleans from an environmental justice perspective.

Expectations

What are the participants expected to do:

before the workshop - meet with department chair and others to discuss goals from participation, campus resources available and needed, and opportunities for follow up; submit application that describes their current activities and goals from participating
during the workshop - participate in all sessions; develop action plan
after the workshop - use the action plan to begin making changes at their institutions, potentially submitting an application for funding through the InTeGrate Implementation Programs process.

Costs

Lodging for two nights, food and direct workshop costs are provided by the NSF-funded project.

Application and Selection Criteria

The workshop is targeted towards teams from minority-serving institutions, especially in the southeastern US, and others institutions that serve students from underrepresented populations is especially encouraged. It is open to faculty and administrators from all types of academic institutions. Preference will be given to teams that show institutional commitment to supporting post-workshop follow up activities. Teams should have at least two members from multiple disciplines, including at least one geoscientist or environmental scientist.