This award will support student participation at the Annual Technical Conference of the National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, September 9-12, 2009. The objective of the meeting will be to encourage students of under-represented backgrounds in science to pursue academic degrees STEM disciplines. The topic of the conference will be Sustaining Geosciences and it will include key note speakers, technical sessions, poster sessions, and exhibits. This student-centered meeting will facilitate mentoring interactions between professional members of the association and students. In addition, there will be opportunities for academic institutions, government agencies, and industry to recruit students for internships and permanent jobs.
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The conference theme in 2009 was 'Sustaining the Geosciences', reflecting an emphasis on continuing challenges facing the global energy industry with respect to resource exploitation and depletion while preserving global environmental quality as well as the University of Arkansas vision to improve sustainability of 21st Century society. The National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG) is a professional organization of professional Earth scientists employed in private industry, government agencies, and private consulting dedicated to enhancing opportunities for employment in the geosciences to a more diverse population, particularly African-American and other black people. The 2009 conference featured: 1) a welcoming reception at the home of University of Arkansas Chancellor, Dr. G. David Gearhart. This reception included all participants at the NABGG conference (students and professionals), executive administrators from U. of Arkansas, deans and associate deans of all UA colleges, faculty from Geosciences and the Environmental Dynamics Program, and other invited guests; 2) 3 keynote addresses; 3) 21 oral presentations; 4) 16 poster presentations; 5) NABGG benefactors luncheon; 6) NABGG scholarship and awards banquet (8 student scholarships and awards were presented); 7) 2 student enrichment activities during evenings (presented by the UA Career Development Center, UA Office of Student Affairs, UA Graduate School); 8) NABGG Professional Members reception; 9) Post-conference field trip to view geology of northwest Arkansas in the vicinity of Fayetteville, AR, including outcrops of the Fayetteville shale (a important natural gas-bearing resource across Arkansas). Abstracts of all presentations were printed in the conference program and are archived on the NABGG website: (www.nabgg.com/conferences_archive.htm) The total number of participants supported in full or in part over the term of this award was 105 at a per capita cost of $403. BROADER IMPACTS: For the University of Arkansas, it was an opportunity to highlight the university setting and its academic programs to an audience of minority professionals and students. It was historic in that it was the first time the University of Arkansas had hosted a national conference of a minority-serving professional organization. As a direct consequence of hosting this conference: 1) members of the executive committee of NABGG were introduced to program managers and directors at NSF; likewise, NSF EAR became aware of the NABGG; 2) The PI was invited to participate in reverse site visits for the HBCU-UP initiative at NSF in October 2009; 3) The University of Arkansas partnered with Fort Valley State University to develop 3+2 dual degree programs in Geology-Chemistry, Geology-Math, Engineering-Chemistry, and Engineering-Math. The Memorandum of Understanding for these dual degree programs was signed in May 2010. These programs will provide enhanced educational opportunities for students from FVSU while at the same time assisting UA in meeting it's objectives of diversifying enrollment of both undergraduate and graduate students. In fall 2010, 2 FVSU students enrolled at UA. One student transferred from FVSU to complete a BS degree in Civil Engineering; one student entered the MS-Geology program after graduating from Penn State University; it is anticipated that 3-5 additional students will transfer to UA under these academic programs in 2011. 4) Hosting the NABGG conference created opportunity for the PI to collaborate on larger initiatives with colleagues at UA and at Fort Valley State University. These collaborations led to submission of an NSF S-STEM proposal with colleagues in the UA College of Engineering and Honors College (pending) and development of NSF OEDG proposal with collaborators at Fort Valley State University (in preparation for 10 November 2010 submission deadline). 4) The UA Environmental Dynamics Program and Department of Geosciences (both academic units of the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences) established themselves as leaders in promoting diversity at the University of Arkansas. The Fulbright College dean recognized these units across the college and promoted these activities as a model to improve diversity across the college. 5) In 2010-2011, all UA academic units are required to prepare and submit plans to promote diversity with tangible objectives, goals, and metrics showing how objectives are being met. The UA Environmental Dynamics Program and Department of Geosciences activities during the last few years, inclusive of hosting the NABGG conference, are being used as the institutional template for advancing diversity. This project elevated the University of Arkansas as an institution dedicated to promoting and encouraging a diverse workforce in STEM disciplines in the United States. In turn, the University of Arkansas is viewed as an institution where people-of-color are welcomed and where there is an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance for diverse cultures and viewpoints. As such, the outcome of hosting this single conference with NSF support was truly and uniquely transformative at the University of Arkansas.
