PROTECTING ANIMAL WELL-BEING WHILE MEETING INCREASING GLOBAL DEMANDS FOR HIGH QUALITY FOOD PRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE TO ANIMAL AGRICULTURE. ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENTISTS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES TOWARD ACHIEVING THE NEEDED BALANCE THROUGH EVALUATING ESTABLISHED AND ALTERNATIVE FOOD ANIMAL HOUSING SYSTEMS, DEVELOPING AND REFINING ON-FARM EUTHANASIA, AND IMPROVING ANIMAL HANDLING, TRANSPORT AND SLAUGHTER PROCESSES. HOWEVER, OUR OVERALL ABILITY TO COMPREHENSIVELY ADDRESS EXISTING AND EMERGING WELL-BEING CHALLENGES IS CONSTRAINED BY THE SMALL POOL OF RESEARCHERS TRAINED AND EMPLOYED TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN THIS AREA OF STUDY. THIS IN TURN LIMITS U. S. SCHOLARS' ACCESS TO RESPECTIVE GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAMS, FURTHER SLOWING THE GROWTH OF THE FIELD DOMESTICALLY, AND POTENTIALLY REDUCING OVERALL CAPACITY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN ADDRESSING NEEDS. IN ADDITION, DIVERSITY OF PERSPECTIVES, SOLUTIONS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO BROADERPUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ON ANIMAL WELFARE ARE ALSO LIMITED BY THE NARROW POOL OF SCIENTISTS TRAINED AND EMPLOYED IN THE U.S. TO WORK IN ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE.AN EVALUATION IS NEEDED OF BOTH THE TECHNICAL SCIENCE REQUIRED TO ADVANCE THE DISCIPLINE IN THE U. S. AND THE ADEQUACY OF THE LEVEL OF REPRESENTATION OF DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND PEOPLE WHO MIGHT SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE FIELD. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT DIVERSITY OF IDEAS, PERSPECTIVES AND THOUGHT, WHICH ARE MOST OFTEN LINKED TO EXPERIENCES AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES (SUCH AS RACE, ETHNICITY, GENDER) ARE CRUCIAL TO ENSURING INNOVATIVE, EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO SCIENTIFIC PROBLEMS. OUR PROPOSED CONFERENCE THEREFORE AIMS TO CONVENE INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED EXPERTS IN ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE, STUDENTS, FACULTY AND OTHERS WITH INTEREST IN PROGRAMS OF STUDY IN ANIMAL WELL-BEING AROUND THE TOPIC OF 'DIVERSIFYING THE DISCIPLINE TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY AND IMPACT OF ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE.' STUDENTS AND FACULTY AT MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS (MSIS) AND OTHER COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIESWITH LIMITED OR NO ACCESS TO ANIMAL WELFARE PROGRAMS WILL BE INTENTIONALLY INVITED TO PARTICIPATE, DELIBERATE AND EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL FOR INCREASED CAPACITY BUILDING AND PROBLEM SOLVING WITH ESTABLISHED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENTISTS. THE GOAL IS TO EXPAND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY (URM) STUDENT AND FACULTY AWARENESS OF AND INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE, CONNECT MAJORITY FACULTY AND STUDENTS WITH URM PEERS AND IDENTIFY COMMON NEEDS AND INTERESTS, POTENTIAL AREAS FOR COLLABORATION, AND ENHANCE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF URM AND NON-TRADITIONAL SCHOLARS INTO THE DISCIPLINE OF ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE. THIS SHOULD SERVE AS A FIRST STEP IN BUILDING THE DIVERSITY IN CAPACITY NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN RESEARCH, TEACHING, ENGAGEMENT, AND APPLIED PROBLEM-SOLVING TO ENHANCE ANIMAL WELL-BEING.