This project focuses on the study of environmental change and solutions to the consequences of these changes to society. The program is built on a collaborative interdisciplinary research history at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) and the newly established Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability (ESS) within the Warner College of Natural Resources. Degree options in the department include a BS in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and a BS in Watershed Science.
Intellectual Merit: NREL and ESS have developed a mature and productive community of scholars who are committed to undergraduate education and experienced in mentoring low income students and students underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Through the education initiatives at the university, there is a recruitment pipeline from partner high schools. What has been missing is a concerted effort to connect the recruitment pipeline and retention activities operated through the student affairs side of campus directly to the research community. This project is making these connections by having researchers work with the student affairs staff to attract and prepare prospective students while they are still in high school. Scholarship recipients are participating in three university programs: 1) the Summer Bridge Program for recent HS graduates, 2) the university Key Freshmen Learning Communities that include students taking common courses and living in the same dormitory, coupled with courses and seminars that foster professional development and bridge science-to-societal issues, and 3) the BS degree programs in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability that stress content knowledge through coursework, research and internships, and opportunities to communicate findings at professional conferences.
The six program goals are to: (1) recruit and retain 4 cohorts from 23 partner high schools resulting in a total of 57 lower and upper classmen students over 4 years, from low-income backgrounds, into the BS programs in either Ecosystem Science and Sustainability or Watershed Science; (2) provide the scholars with a multi-year educational experience that includes courses, seminars, research and internship opportunities, and career advising. (3) create a scholarly environment that supports academic success and promotes research skills and intellectual development; (4) provide an environment in which scholars explore environmental questions and discuss solutions to environmental challenges; (5) create a professional development environment that addresses the personal and social needs of the scholars to enable them to pursue a career in ecology or in an ecosystem or watershed science-related field; and (6) institutionalize key elements of the program to sustain it after NSF funding is completed.
Broader Impacts: Students are being exposed to relevant questions such as: a) climate variability and biological diversity; b) state-of-the-art field and laboratory approaches, instrumentation, and techniques that include molecular techniques, stable isotopes, and modeling; c) essential professional skills (e.g., analytical, writing and presentation); and d) multiple career options and the pathways through which the students can achieve them (e.g., academia, government, and the private sector). The greatest impact comes from the efforts to connect the recruitment pipeline and support networks operated through the student affairs side of campus directly to the curricula and scholarship practiced by the academic affairs side of campus.
