More Like this

1. Women Leadership in the AGU Chapman Conference Series: Convener Impacts on the Science Program Committee

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA002968  

   Keiling, Andreas ; Smith‐Keiling, Beverly L. ( September 2023 , Earth and Space Science)

   Science conferences have increasingly come under a spotlight for inclusion and representation of marginalized groups. Here, we report on our analysis of the representation of women in conference leadership with regard to internal structure and dynamics at the Chapman conference series, spanning a period from 2007 to 2019. Chapman conferences are small, focused meetings in the Earth and space sciences, under the umbrella of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). They follow a two‐leveled scientific leadership model, starting at conference inception by the organizing conveners and their selection of an invited science program committee. Our main findings were: (a) The average women proportion was less for the conveners (17%) than for the Science Program Committee (SPC) (24%), which is in line with the AGU demographics of attrition, assuming a different mix of career stages among conveners and SPC. At the individual conference level, the unfavorable case that convener or SPC teams were comprised only of men was nonetheless frequent. (b) On average, mixed convener teams, as opposed to all‐men convener teams, selected a higher women representation among the SPC members (18% vs. 28%). (c) There were fewer all‐men SPC teams when at least one woman was in the convener team (21% vs. 7%). In conclusion, while there was evidence that equitable representation can be achieved in the leadership, it still lagged in a consistent fashion for individual conferences. Targeted efforts for increased representation–especially at the convener level of the two‐leveled conference model–are recommended, as increased women representation at the convener level may improve women representation of the SPC.

    

   more » « less
2. Use of Personas in Exploring Scholarship Applicants

   Rynearson, Anastasia ; Gartner, Jacqueline ; Miller, Michele ( July 2021 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   null (Ed.)

   A recent S-STEM award has allowed the engineering program in a rural, liberal arts institution to offer a need-based scholarship program for its students. The engineering program has a number of veteran, underrepresented minority, transfer, and nontraditional students. Many students are also first-generation college students. The institution and engineering program matriculate a number of under-served populations, students who may have needs that are not well understood in the typical engineering education literature. The scholarship program and its associated mentoring and activities will assist workforce development and will also incorporate a number of research avenues to better understand and serve the student population in this unique setting. To apply for the program, students must fill out an application with four 250 – 500 word essay responses relating to their academic progress, perceived barriers to degree completion, and how this award would help them to complete their degree. This study continues work using personas, a method used in human-centered design. Using the first round of scholarship application essays as a source, three personas were developed, one successful applicant, one unsuccessful applicant, and one general applicant. Personas are detailed profiles of a fake person who could reasonably be in each category of interest. In human-centered design, personas are detailed descriptions of likely clients or end-users, developed to help the engineers focus on who they might be designing for. The profiles developed in this study were used to gain insight into which students were likely to choose to apply and which students may be missing out on this opportunity. It is time for another round of applications for this grant and the use of personas will continue and expand as part of this study. Before reviewing applications, the committee will create two personas as ideal candidates instead of developing a standardized rubric. Subsequently, three personas will be developed from the Fall 2020 applications, one for all applicants, one for successful applicants, and one for unsuccessful applicants. These personas will then be compared to the personas created by the application review committee and the personas created from the Fall 2018 applicants. Similarities and differences across the persona groups will be explored to determine whether the applicants are what the reviewers expected and whether the pool of applicants has evolved or remained mostly the same throughout the scholarship program. Review committee members will also be interviewed in a focus group setting to discuss their experiences using common personas rather than standardized rubrics in the application review process. At this time, the applications are not yet due and the analysis has not yet begun. Initial interest for the grant has been strong and we anticipate at least thirty applications for the nineteen available grants. Results presented will include the student profiles and faculty experiences with the use of personas as a metric for reviewing student applications. 

   more » « less
3. Diversity and equality in honours and awards programs – steps towards a fair representation of membership

   https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-41-2020  

   Holmes, Mary Anne ; Myles, LaToya ; Schneider, Blair ( January 2020 , Advances in Geosciences)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract. Honours and awards bestowed by professional societiesrecognize and reward members who have advanced the goals and values of thatsociety. All too often, however, awards reflect a small network of peoplewho know about the awards and participate in the process. This network workswonderfully for the people lucky enough to be in it, but typically neglectsthe full range and breadth of scholarship and service within the society. Werepresent a combined 15+ years' experience on the honours' committeefor a large professional society (the American Geophysical Union) and hereoffer strategies to increase the representation of honourees. Womenrepresented less than 20 % of awardees when we first becamecommittee members in 2008; women represented 50 % of awardees in2019. There is still much to do to ensure that members from other typicallyunder-represented groups (non-US members, members from under-representedraces/ethnicities) are truly represented and honoured for outstandingscience and service. We recommend forming canvassing committees that willscour the literature, conferences, and membership lists for appropriate andotherwise overlooked nominees; providing implicit bias training to selectioncommittees; and ensuring selection committees focus on the criteria for theaward rather than non-pertinent, often personal, information, as well as additionalstrategies that allow us to recognize our worthy colleagues. 

   more » « less
4. Scientific Societies Fostering Inclusive Scientific Environments through Travel Awards: Current Practices and Recommendations

   https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0262  

   Segarra, Verónica A. ; Vega, Leticia R. ; Primus, Clara ; Etson, Candice ; Guillory, Ashley N. ; Edwards, Ashanti ; Flores, Sonia C. ; Fry, Catherine ; Ingram, Susan L. ; Lawson, Mark ; et al ( June 2020 , CBE—Life Sciences Education)

   Wolfson, Adele (Ed.)

   Diversity-focused committees continue to play essential roles in the efforts of professional scientific societies to foster inclusion and facilitate the professional development of underrepresented minority (URM) young scientists in their respective scientific disciplines. Until recently, the efforts of these committees have remained independent and disconnected from one another. Funding from the National Science Foundation has allowed several of these committees to come together and form the Alliance to Catalyze Change for Equity in STEM Success, herein referred to as ACCESS. The overall goal of this meta-organization is to create a community in which diversity-focused committees can interact, synergize, share their collective experiences, and have a unified voice on behalf of URM trainees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. In this Essay, we compare and contrast the broad approaches that scientific societies in ACCESS use to implement and assess their travel award programs for URM trainees. We also report a set of recommendations, including both short- and long-term outcomes assessment in populations of interest and specialized programmatic activities coupled to travel award programs. 

   more » « less
5. Light Microscopy Outreach as an Introduction to Scientific Concepts for Students in Under-Resourced Schools Across the Globe

   Endow, Sharyn A. ; Paul, Umika S. ( January 2020 , Microscopy and microanalysis)

   Light microscopy provides a window into another world that is not visible to the unaided eye. Because of this and its importance in biological discoveries, the light microscope is an essential tool for scientific studies. It can also be used with a variety of easily obtained specimens to provide dramatic demonstrations of previously unknown features of common plants and animals. Thus, one way to interest young people in science is to start with an introduction to light microscopy. This is an especially effective strategy for individuals who attend less advantaged or under-resourced schools, as they may not have been previously exposed to scientific concepts in their classes. However, introducing light microscopy lessons in the classroom can be challenging because of the high cost of light microscopes, even those that are relatively basic, in addition to their usual large size. Efforts are underway by our laboratory in collaboration with the Biophysical Society (BPS) to introduce young people to light microscopy using small, easy-to-assemble wooden microscopes developed by Echo Laboratories. The microscopes are available online as low-cost kits ($10 each with shipping), each consisting of 19 parts printed onto an 81⁄2 x 11 inch sheet of light-weight wood (Fig. 1). After punching out the pieces, they can be assembled into a microscope with a moveable stage and a low-power lens, also provided in the kit (Fig. 2). Photos taken with a cell phone through the microscope lens can give magnifications of ~16-18x, or higher. At these magnifications, features of specimens that are not visible to the unaided eye can be easily observed, e.g., small hairs on the margins of leaves or lichens [1]. As a member of the BPS Education Committee, one of us (SAE) wrote a Lesson Plan on Light Microscopy specifically for use with the wooden microscopes. SAE was also able to obtain a gift of 500 wooden microscope kits for the BPS from Echo Laboratories and Chroma Technology Corp in 2016. The wooden microscope kits, together with the lesson plan, have provided the materials for our present outreach efforts. Rather than giving out the wooden microscope kits to individuals, the BPS asked the Education Committee to maximize the impact of the gift by distributing the microscopes with the Lesson Plan on Light Microscopy to teachers, e.g., through teachers’ workshops or outreach sessions. This strategy was devised to enable the Society to reach a larger number of young people than by giving the microscopes to individuals. The Education Committee first evaluated the microscopes as a tool to introduce students to scientific concepts by providing microscopes to a BPS member at the National University of Colombia who conducted a workshop on Sept 19-24, 2016 in Tumaco, Columbia. During the workshop, which involved 120 high school girls and 80 minority students, including Afro-Colombian and older students, the students built the wooden microscopes and examined specimens, and compared the microscopes to a conventional light microscope. Assembling the wooden microscopes was found to be a useful procedure that was similar to a scientific protocol, and encouraged young girls and older students to participate in science. This was especially promising in Colombia, where there are few women in science and little effort to increase women in STEM fields. Another area of outreach emerged recently when one of us, USP, an undergraduate student at Duke University, who was taught by SAE how to assemble the wooden microscopes and how to use the lesson plan, took three wooden microscopes on a visit to her family in Bangalore, India in summer 2018 [2]. There she organized and led three sessions in state run, under-resourced government schools, involving classes of ~25-40 students each. This was very successful – the students enjoyed learning about the microscopes and building them, and the science teachers were interested in expanding the sessions to other government schools. USP taught the teachers how to assemble and use the microscopes and gave the teachers the microscopes and lesson plan, which is also available to the public at the BPS web site. She also met with a founder of the organization, Whitefield Rising, which is working to improve teaching in government schools, and taught her and several volunteers how to assemble the microscopes and conduct the sessions. The Whitefield Rising members have been able to conduct nine further sessions in Bangalore over the past ~18 months (Fig. 3), using microscope kits provided to them by the BPS. USP has continued to work with members of the Whitefield Rising group during her summer and winter breaks on visits to Bangalore. Recently she has been working with another volunteer group that has expanded the outreach efforts to New Delhi. The light microscopy outreach that our laboratory is conducting in India in collaboration with the BPS is having a positive impact because we have been able to develop a partnership with volunteers in Bangalore and New Delhi. The overall goal is to enhance science education globally, especially in less advantaged schools, by providing a low-cost microscope that can be used to introduce students to scientific concepts. 

   more » « less