UMEB: Introducing Southern Californian Students to the Problems of a Changing Environment

Csu Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation, Fullerton CA

Investigators

Abstract

California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), a minority and Hispanic-serving institution, will conduct an Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program revolving around an overall theme of understanding the ecology and environmental biology of changing southern California ecosystems. The multifaceted educational experience for undergraduates will foster greater participation of minority and urban-raised students in environmental biology, increase their opportunities to conduct field research, expose them to the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of environmental biology, introduce them to the diversity of careers available in environmental biology, and develop both student and faculty mentoring skills. Over the 4-year project period, students will research environmental issues in three distinctly different ecosystems affected by human encroachment in southern California (desert, foothill, and coastal wetlands). UMEB scholars will be recruited during the spring of their freshman or sophomore year to participate in an intensive field-based course and complete supervised research projects during that summer. The 4-week course will bring together students, faculty members, and other professional environmental biologists for in-depth study of the effects of human activities in the three targeted ecosystems. Following this, students will be matched with a faculty mentor based on mutual interests, mentoring needs, and available research opportunities, and each will become an integral member of the mentor's research group. Students will develop and complete a two-year independent research project done in collaboration with a faculty mentor, culminating in a senior thesis. Results of their research will also be presented at local, regional and national conferences. Scholars will meet weekly to work on group-oriented activities and career development, and throughout the program, the more experienced scholars will serve as peer mentors to enhance student leadership skills and develop bonds among the UMEB scholars. The program aims to develop an environmental biology-oriented undergraduate community that provides a strong peer-support network, and immerses students into the culture of environmental research while preparing them for careers in environmental biology. For more information, contact Bill Hoese (bhoese@fullerton.edu) or visit http://biology.fullerton.edu/scerp/index.html.