RCN-UBE: Research Experiences in Southern California for Undergraduate Ecologists network

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The Research Experiences in Southern California for Undergraduate Ecologists network (RESCUE-NET) provides immersive ecological training opportunities for undergraduates and equips them with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle our society’s unprecedented ecological challenges. Climate change, habitat modification, introduced species and fire are impacting Southern California’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem services. While training undergraduates, RESCUE-NET research is focused on providing critical ecological information. RESCUE-Net research opportunities emphasize collaboration amongst students and offers novel opportunities for them to participate in the entire scientific process from question/hypothesis development to data analyses and manuscript construction. RESCUE-Net has been intentionally designed to engage diverse students. Furthermore, RESCUE-Net is focused on bolstering across the region collaborations of faculty from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) and Community Colleges. RESCUE-Net is a network of faculty in Southern California who are dedicated to training the next generation of ecological leaders. RESCUE-Net includes three types of educational research projects: multi-site collaborative CUREs (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences), multi-site research projects (MSRPs), and multi-site MUREs (Mentored Undergraduate Research Experiences). CUREs are authentic research activities that occur as part of courses. MSRPs are faculty-led research projects that involve students from multiple campuses. MUREs are guided research experiences that allow students to design and carry out collaborative research. At the end of each year, faculty and students present their work at regional and national conferences. RESCUE-Net faculty are united by a passion to mentor and support the diverse Southern California undergraduate population and to remove barriers that preclude PEER (Persons Excluded because of their Ethnicity or Race), first generation, and low-income students from participating in ecological research. Through iterative assessment, researchers track the development of student scientific identity and self-efficacy. RESCUE-Net addresses challenges that limit diversity and inclusion in ecological research and provides key ecological insights to emerging environmental challenges. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).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.