PLANTS (Preparing Leaders and Nurturing Tomorrow's Scientists): Increasing the diversity of plant scientists

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The PLANTS (Preparing Leaders and Nurturing Tomorrow's Scientists) program will support attendance of undergraduate students at the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America (BSA). The goal is to increase the number of undergraduates from underrepresented groups who attend these meetings, and to increase their level of academic excellence and motivation to pursue advanced degrees in the plant sciences. It will build upon the success of past and current activities of the BSA in outreach and in promoting the involvement of students from underrepresented groups. The activity will include a supporting mentoring network of graduate students, post-docs, and faculty who will assist the students before, during and after the meetings. The mentors will work not only to interpret the content of scientific talks to the students, but also to point out the broader relevance and application of the discipline to the students, and pass on to the students the genuine intellectual excitement and involvement of the conference participants. Students will attend sessions designed for advanced undergraduates that discuss preparation for advanced work, such as preparation for graduate school and factors influencing success in graduate school and science careers. The students will have opportunities to explore their academic and research interests in the plant sciences and to broaden their career opportunities. Involvement of the BSA and engagement of members in these activities will address the critical need for continued diversity recruitment for the vitality of the discipline and will emphasize the importance of year-long individual involvement. These activities also will promote development of a set of best practices to support outreach and minority mentoring in research activities in the plant sciences.