Connecting Interdisciplinary STEM Education and Research in HBCUs

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Part 1Czujko and Nicholson, 2010 reported that of all (about 460) universities that award bachelor?s degrees in geoscience, four universities (Jackson State, Mississippi State, Pennsylvania and Savannah State) top all in awarding bachelor?s degrees to African Americans and they are the only ones that awarded more than 10 bachelor?s degrees to African Americans in geoscience over the 5 years (2004-2008) combined. Together, the four universities accounted for 19% of all geoscience bachelor?s earned by African Americans and Jackson State University is a top producer in both physics and geoscience. Over the last 5 years combined, about 300 universities with geoscience degree programs awarded no bachelor?s degrees to African Americans and about another 95 awarded only one geoscience bachelor?s to an African American.Not surprisingly, three of the four top producers of African Americans earning geoscience bachelor?s degrees are of Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) status (Czujko and Nicholson, 2010) yet there are fewer than 10 degree-granting geoscience departments at HBCUs. However, several HBCUs offer related geoscience programs and degrees based on the classification of geoscience instructional programs (Status of the Geoscience Workforce, 2016). Organizationally, HBCUs structure does not include geoscience departments, schools, or program classifications such as biogeosciences, ocean science, etc. Historically, most African Americans who chose geoscience pathways at the graduate levels and who become practicing geoscientists or counted as part of the workforce received their undergraduate training at HBCUs. Recognizing that obstacles to the recruitment, training and retention of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in geosciences exist at all educational levels, concerted and sustained efforts are needed to increase ethnic diversity in geoscience and related sciences, and to understand why so few minority students choose to go into this discipline.A community of stakeholders representing higher education including HBCUs, professional societies including NTA, NOBCCHE (National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers), BEYA, to name a few, and organizations, governmental and private entities will convene during a one-day workshop to lay the foundation for a sustained effort to strengthen geoscience (and STEM) education and research among HBCUs to catalyze these institution?s contribution to broadening participation in the education and workforce sectors.Part 2The number of African Americans receiving undergraduate and advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by all accounts is disproportionately low. According to an American Institute of Physics report (Czujko and Nicholson, 2010), physics and geoscience consistently rank near the bottom among all disciplines in their ability to attract and retain African American students. In an effort to address this pervasive issue, the National Technical Association (NTA) in collaboration with Morgan State University proposes to host a day-long workshop during the NTA 89th Annual Meeting on September 20-22, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. This workshop will provide a forum to convene geoscience and STEM stakeholders to discuss the status of HBCU education, research and workforce in these disciplines, facilitate collaborative efforts and establish a geoscience agenda that contributes to broadening participation.The objectives of the 2017 workshop are to:- Create a shared understanding among participants of geosciences disciplines, education, research and workforce with the context of STEM and non-STEM discipline.- Review the current status of geosciences (and STEM) education and research within HBCUs and simultaneously consider current gaps and potential opportunities from which an action agenda can be established.- Draw on and leverage the expertise of institutional and individual stakeholders engaged in related geoscience and STEM activities and document lessons learned and best and emerging practices for broadening participation.- Present/offer for consideration an interdisciplinary approach as a framework for advancing geosciences and more broadly STEM initiatives within HBCUs.- Explore prospects and strategies for collaboration among various entities?academic institutions, professional associations, federal agencies?to enhance the contribution of HBCUs to the broadening participation and inclusive science agenda.