An Immersive GEO-Revolution Adventure Experience for HBCU Undergraduates

美国巴尔的摩市摩根州立大学的历史、地理和博物馆研究系将开展一项为期两年的桥牌试点项目，20名历史黑人学院和大学(HBCU)的本科生将参与其中。试点旨在帮助这些学生过渡到地理、地球科学和地球空间科学的研究生水平学位课程。目标本科生将通过完成相关主修和辅修学位课程的选修和必修课程，为这些学科领域的研究生学习做好准备，并展示出巨大的潜力。位于美国切萨皮克地区的HBCU是该项目的主要人才库，包括鲍伊州立大学、科平州立大学、霍华德大学、摩根州立大学和马里兰东岸大学。该计划的目的是为代表地理学、地球科学和地球空间科学的下一代科学家提供概念和实用工具，这些工具有助于为具有环境、政治和经济质量的水灾和气候变化问题提出具有文化相关性的解决方案。这些问题往往对居住在城市、郊区和沿海环境中的有色人种造成不成比例的影响。该计划将提供基于课堂的虚拟研讨会，强调地理学家、地球科学家、地理空间科学家和其他学科的领导原则和价值观。此外，还提供实地研究机会，帮助参与者对巴尔的摩市和切萨皮克地区其他地区与减轻水灾有关的科学研究和宣传有更高的了解，这些研究和宣传反映了过去、现在和预测的各种原因和后果的气候变化风险，这些风险往往导致小规模和极端规模的灾害。通过结合不同环境类型中与水害和气候变化有关的培训讲习班和实地研究练习，特别是对于那些遇到制度和其他基于地点的限制的人，该计划具有巨大的潜力，成为有色人种领导力发展的典范，使自己能够成为科学家，通过他们的研究和公民义务，在学院内外最高限度地尊重和实践正义、公平、多样性和包容的原则。此外，该计划可能会为没有参与该计划的HBCU和全美其他少数群体服务的机构提供实用的方法，以增加其本科生的数量，这些本科生有意寻求并将获得计划重点学科的高级学位视为在其他科学领域和更大的社会中更具代表性和领导力的手段。这一为期两年的试点桥梁项目旨在通过实践研究培训练习、专家指导和指导支持，提高美国地理、地球科学和地理空间科学专业颜色研究生的数量和质量。该计划针对的是那些在切萨皮克地区的HBCU注册的学生，他们通过学位招生状况和课程完成情况与重点学科拥有主要和中等的关系，但可能缺乏额外的刺激、支持和进入研究生水平学习的途径。该计划旨在使目标学生能够超越传统的课堂结构，开始实地研究冒险，有助于建立他们的：(1)理解与水灾和气候变化有关的地理学、地球科学和地球空间科学的科学观点；(2)自信地使用科学研究工具为决策和实践目的创造知识；以及(3)与城市社区居民、社区非营利组织、政府机构、专业组织、地方和国家保护团体和机构以及以环境为中心的实验室建立近距离和平等的伙伴关系，开展提高公众认识活动的沟通技能。定义项目的三个原则表明：(1)高接触的实地研究经验是针对水害和气候变化等环境问题的有效学习和职业发展途径；(2)当HBCU本科生得到有意和关心的支持时，随着重点学科的研究生申请和入学成功的机会增加；(3)当切萨皮克地区的城市、郊区和沿海城镇的有色人种集中在这样的工作中时，社区和大学的合作关系会带来更好的科学和发现，从而更好地理解和实施应对多变和不成比例的水灾和气候变化影响的文化响应方法。该项目由地球科学多样性领导机会(GOLD-EN)计划和历史上的黑人学院和大学卓越研究计划(HBCU-EIR)联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The History, Geography & Museum Studies Department at Morgan State University in Baltimore City, USA will operate a two-year pilot bridge program involving 20 undergraduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The pilot aims to assist these students in transitioning to graduate-level degree programs in geography, the geosciences, and geospatial sciences. The targeted undergraduates will have had preparation and demonstrate substantial promise for graduate study in those discipline fields through completed elective and required coursework in relevant major and minor degree programs. HBCUs located in the Chesapeake region of the United States are the principal talent pools of the program, and are inclusive of Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Howard University, Morgan State University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The aim of the program is to equip the next generation of scientists representing geography, the geosciences, and geospatial sciences with conceptual and practical tools that serve to produce culturally relevant solutions to water hazards and climate change matters of an environmental, political, and economic quality. Those matters most often disproportionately impact people of color residing in urban, suburban, and coastal environments. The program will provide classroom-based and virtual workshops emphasizing leadership principles and values espoused by geographers, geoscientists, geospatial scientists, and those in other disciplines. Additionally, field-based study opportunities are offered to help participants formulate a higher degree of understanding towards scientific research and advocacy relating to water hazard mitigation in Baltimore City and elsewhere in the Chesapeake region that reflect past, present, and forecasted climate change exposures of variable cause and consequence which lead oftentimes to disasters of small and extreme proportions. By combining training workshops and field study exercises relating to water hazards and climate change in different environment types, particularly for those who encounter institutional and other place-based constraints, the program has great potential to stand as a model example of leadership development for people of color to empower themselves to be scientists who hold in the highest regard and practice principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within the academy and beyond through their research and citizenship duties. Furthermore, the program may offer non-participating HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions across the United States functional approaches for increasing their number of undergraduates who intentionally seek and view the acquisition of advanced degrees in the disciplines of program focus as the means for greater representation and leadership across other scientific fields of endeavor and in the larger society. This two-year pilot bridge program serves to build the quantity and quality of United States graduate students of color in geography, the geosciences, and geospatial sciences through hands-on research training exercises, expert guidance, and mentoring support. The program targets those enrolled at HBCUs located in the Chesapeake region who possess a major as well as moderate relationship with the disciplines of focus through degree enrollment status and coursework completion yet may lack additional stimuli, supports, and pathways towards graduate-level study. The program aims to enable target students to go beyond traditional classroom structures and embark on field research adventures that contribute to building their: (1) comprehension of scientific viewpoints in geography, geosciences, and geospatial sciences relating to water hazards and climate change; (2) confidence in the use of scientific research instruments towards knowledge production for policymaking and practice purposes; and (3) communication skills for public awareness campaigns in close proximity and equal partnership with city neighborhood residents, community-based nonprofit organizations, government agencies, professional organizations, local and national conservation groups and institutes, and environment-centered laboratories. Three principles defining program suggest that: (1) high-touch field-based research experiences are effective learning and career development pathways towards environmental matters like water hazards and climate change; (2) the chances for graduate program application and enrollment success with the disciplines of focus rise when HBCU undergraduates receive intentional and caring support; and (3) community-university partnerships lead to better science and discovery towards greater public understanding and implementation of culturally responsive approaches towards dealing with variable and disproportionate water hazard and climate change impacts when people of color in cities, suburbs, and coastal towns across the Chesapeake region and perhaps beyond its boundaries are centered in such work.This project is jointly funded by the Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLD-EN) Program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) Program.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.