A Workshop to Strengthen Engagement of Community College Faculty and Disciplinary Societies

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This project aims to serve the national interest by improving participation of community college faculty with professional disciplinary societies. Since community colleges teach an estimated 44 percent of U.S. undergraduate students, they play a critical role in the education of undergraduates and hold tremendous potential to expand and diversify the field of emerging STEM professionals. Recent reports have recommended that scientific societies do more to engage full and part-time community college faculty. Through increased interaction, faculty will have the opportunity to engage in discipline specific professional development that represents the current state of affairs with respect to careers in the field. A multi-day virtual workshop will promote strategies for partnerships between community college instructors and their respective professional disciplinary societies to foster more inclusive teaching practices, enhance transfer and career opportunities for students, and promote a more diverse workforce. Participants in the virtual workshop will include faculty, administrative, and professional society leaders. Together they will explore how to support community college faculty in their teaching and professional development through expanded involvement with professional societies. The workshop conveners are the co-editors of a 2021 New Directions for Community Colleges publication Partners in Progress: Community College Faculty and Disciplinary Societies. The workshop will be hosted by the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College with expected attendance of 75-100 participants over the course of three days. The workshop website and the associated report will be distributed to all participants, professional disciplinary societies, and will be available to all in the professional and academic scientific community. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.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.