Planning grant Increasing geoscience graduate student diversity in Tennessee's flagship state university

该项目旨在增加历史上被排除在外的群体在地球科学中的多样性和代表性，地球科学是美国所有自然科学中最不多样化的群体之一。该项目将在田纳西州历史上主要的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)田纳西州立大学(TSU)和田纳西州旗舰研究型大学诺克斯维尔田纳西大学(UTK)之间开展长期合作，以加强他们的地球科学学术和研究活动。该项目将通过提供学术和专业发展的机会，增强地球科学劳动力的多样性和包容性，并促进对地球和行星过程的科学理解，使学生和地球科学界都受益。项目将使用多种方法来实现其目标，例如：1)教员访问校园，主持课堂讲座或在系研讨会上演讲；2)在正常学年期间，UTK和TSU合作指导学生研究项目；3)UTK教员以暑期实习生的身份指导TSU学生的研究；以及4)TSU本科生可以访问UTK提供的四个地质学入门在线课程：101(物理地质学)，102(历史地质)、103(环境地质)和104(行星地质)。该项目还将为本科生创造带薪研究实习机会，并主动向促进多样性和包容性的校园组织宣传这些实习机会。该项目将为所有拥有现有本科生研究资助机会的地球和行星科学教职员工组织具有文化敏感性的指导培训。该项目将通过UTK国家STEM评估和研究所的重点小组评估来记录这些方法的成功。成功的衡量标准将包括学生研究出版物、会议报告、研究生院招生和学生反馈。该项目由地球科学领导能力多样性机会计划和历史上的黑人学院和大学-卓越研究计划资助。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。

This project aims to increase the diversity and representation of historically excluded groups in the geosciences, which are among the least diverse of all the natural sciences in the United States. The project will develop a long-term collaboration between Tennessee State University (TSU), the major historically black college and university (HBCU) in Tennessee, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK), the flagship research university in Tennessee, to strengthen their Earth sciences academic and research activities. The project will benefit both the students and the geoscience community by providing opportunities for academic and professional development, enhancing the diversity and inclusion of the geoscience workforce, and advancing the scientific understanding of Earth and planetary processes.The project will use a combination of methods to achieve its goals, such as: 1) campus visits by faculty to lead class lectures or present at department seminars, 2) UTK and TSU collaborative mentorship of student research projects during the regular school year, 3) UTK faculty mentorship of TSU student research as summer interns at UTK, and 4) access of TSU undergraduates to four introductory geology online courses offered by UTK: 101 (physical geology), 102 (historical geology), 103 (environmental geology), and 104 (planetary geology). The project will also create paid research internships for undergraduate students, and proactively advertise them with campus organizations that promote diversity and inclusion. The project will organize culturally sensitive mentoring training for all Earth and Planetary Sciences faculty personnel who have existing undergraduate research funding opportunities. The project will document the success of these methods via focus-group evaluation by the National Institute for STEM Evaluation and Research at UTK. Success metrics will include student research publications, conference presentations, graduate school admissions, and student feedback.This project is funded by the Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity Program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research 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.