Enhancing Research and Scholarly Training at the Desert Studies Center, California

Csu Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation, Fullerton CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Desert Studies Center (DSC) is a field station supported by the California State University system. Through NSF-FSML support for strategic planning, the role of the DSC in desert research and scholarly training will be strengthened. An important part of the plan will be to increase the DSC's influence on future generations of STEM scientists by increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the STEM workforce. The plan will also emphasize cultivation of a broader set of research skills through cross-disciplinary research and training. A number of inter-linked tasks will be used to achieve these goals. A survey of, and visits to other FSMLs that face similar challenges as the DSC will be used to refine the current DSC Strategic Plan. This Plan will guide development of an Operations Plan for improving infrastructure and logistical support of research at the DSC. The final step will be to educate arid-land scientists about opportunities provided by the DSC, especially those of a cross-disciplinary nature, with an emphasis on recruiting use by faculty and students of minority-serving institutions. These plans and a written summary of best-practices for increasing research and training at FSMLs operated by primarily-undergraduate institutions, as well as data associated with this program, will be made available through the DSC website (http://nsm.fullerton.edu/dsc/).