Conference: Plant Biology 2021 PUI Faculty Development Workshop and Conference Participation

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Researchers at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) play an important role in educating undergraduates in the sciences. Although PUIs generally lack the luster of cutting-edge research universities, they often make up for that with their faculty’s dedication to pedagogy. Smaller class sizes, lab courses taught by faculty, and course-based undergraduate research experiences are often reasons why students choose to attend a PUI. Research at PUIs, while necessarily proceeding at a slower pace than in research-intensive institutions, nonetheless contributes to the overall research output of the United States and, maybe most importantly, provides access to authentic research experiences for undergraduates in their preparation for graduate school or a STEM career. Due to the smaller department size, faculty at PUIs often lack access to colleagues studying similar questions to their own. For these professors participating in conferences is often the only way to network, exchange ideas, and stay current in their fields. This grant provides awards to defray the cost of registration and travel specifically to PUI faculty to participate in the Plant Biology 2021 conference. Aside from networking and conversing about their own and their colleagues’ research, PUI faculty attending this meeting will also be able to participate in a faculty development workshop on the topic of inclusivity in undergraduate research. Conference participation is expected to have a direct and lasting effect on the ability of attendees to provide rich research experiences to a diverse group of students, including those historically underrepresented in the sciences.Developing and maintaining a vigorous research program that includes opportunities for undergraduate involvement is a rewarding but difficult task. Working actively to increase diversity in undergraduate research is also a rewarding and important task, but adds an additional layer of potentially time-consuming activities. Although research program development and active work to broaden participation in the sciences are challenges for faculty at any institution, several aspects make this work particularly difficult for scientists at PUIs. Compared to research-intensive institutions, a lower level of research infrastructure, funding, and in most cases the absence of support from graduate students and postdocs at PUIs pose challenges. Time constraints due to heavier teaching loads are likely the most difficult aspect that PUI faculty members have to overcome towards developing an inclusive and productive research program. Intentional approaches to add diversity in scientific research at the PUI level require time, ideas, money, and specific skills. Having a network of colleagues who are working towards the same goals is important to increase productivity and synergism. This project proposes to organize and offer a workshop for PUI scientists and to provide travel/registration grants for Plant Biology 2021 for PUI scientists. A 3.5-hour workshop is planned for the first morning of the meeting with the goal of helping PUI faculty develop and maintain productive and more diverse research labs. Additionally, a panel on obtaining a job at a PUI, the PUI business meeting, and informal meet ups will foster networking and opportunities to collaborate among colleagues.This award was co-funded by the Plant Genome Research Program and the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.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.