Conference: The Future of Botany: Educating for a Diverse and Inclusive 21st Century Workforce; July, 2019, Tucson, AZ

Botanical Society Of America, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

This project addresses the need for training, expertise, and innovation in areas of national importance that depend upon the plant sciences for future solutions, including research relevant to the impacts of changing environments or sustainable food production. The US population is racially and ethnically diverse, and broadening participation in the plant sciences can bring fresh perspectives leading to new approaches and solutions. Although scientific professional societies meet throughout the US, it is uncommon for them to make an intentional effort to reach out to local institutions such as community colleges, thus ignoring institutions which enroll a large proportion of underrepresented students. Community colleges often have the most diverse student bodies but few resources for science and technology research training and careers. The Tucson, AZ location of the BOTANY 2019 meeting provides opportunities for several plant societies to engage faculty from local community colleges and tribal colleges that provide educational access for students at schools with high proportions of American Indian and Hispanic students. This project provides travel awards to BOTANY 2019 for community college and tribal college faculty who train these students, and for local undergraduates who may be interested in the plant sciences (through PLANTS, a program to increase student motivation to pursue further academic and career opportunities in botany). It also supports a hands-on, inquiry-based workshop for botany and biology instructors, engaging them in the latest active learning techniques/methods that are especially effective for underrepresented students with limited science backgrounds. In addition, a special session of talks with discussion of programs that have been implemented to reduce barriers in recruitment and retention of underrepresented students will follow the workshop. BOTANY 2019 is the annual gathering of six scientific societies (Botanical Society of America (BSA), American Society of Plant Taxonomists, American Fern Society, Society of Herbarium Curators, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and American Bryological and Lichenological Society). Although these meetings are attended by more than 1000 plant scientists, less than two percent of BSA membership is from community colleges, and the proportion of underrepresented minorities is low. The meetings cover scientific studies of plants at all levels of biological organization and include topics such as ecology, conservation biology, plant morphology, development, and systematics. This project strategically links new professional development opportunities: a workshop for faculty on inquiry-based learning and equity-based teaching strategies in the plant sciences, and an interdisciplinary session evaluating the efficacy of interventions for equity and inclusiveness and their impacts on faculty and institutional practices. This project also includes travel grants for undergraduates interested in the plant sciences, focusing on students from underrepresented groups and from local community and tribal colleges. Students are part of PLANTS, a program designed to increase their level of academic excellence and motivation to pursue advanced degrees and/or careers in the plant sciences. Undergraduates are paired with both a peer mentor (grad student) and a senior mentor (faculty/professional) for the meeting and beyond. Students are exposed to the breadth and depth of botany, with mentors facilitating discussions of research, networking, and with professional development workshops. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.