GP-UP: Creating a diverse group of leaders: The Environmental Science Pathways Scholars Program E(SP)2 at Barnard College

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).

The Geosciences are the least racially and ethnically diverse of all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields (Bernard et al., 2018, NSF 2017). E(SP)2 is a unique program that immerses students in various realms of Geoscience with class, field, lab, and internship opportunities while providing significant support through faculty and peer mentorship, Supplemental Instruction, and cohort comradery.

Students enter E(SP)2 upon admission to Barnard College or following their first year, creating hybrid cohorts. Prior to their first year in E(SP)2, Scholars will participate in a Summer Bridge program introducing them to the College resources and support programs, faculty, and other students. During the first year, Scholars will hone scientific habits of mind through a credit bearing Journal club and a funded Spring Break field trip.

Scholars will also participate in Supplemental Instruction for keystone introductory courses in the Environmental Science Major, providing deep collaborative learning. In their second year of E(SP)2, Scholars enroll in a credit-bearing Science Communication and Outreach class taught through an environmental justice (EJ) lens with service learning components, co-taught by our community partner, BioBus.

The centerpiece of E(SP)2 will be two summers of funded independent research in a laboratory, with the opportunity to pursue an EJ-related internship during their second summer. E(SP)2 will also employ a unique, student-led evaluation process to enhance our knowledge of the factors that contribute most to attracting and retaining diverse students.

The Environmental Science Pathways Scholar Program [E(SP)2] at Barnard College, an all women’s undergraduate institution, will create a nurturing yet intellectually engaging Geoscience community to promote the education and success of persons excluded from science because of ethnicity or race (Science PEERs; Asai, 2020) and those who identify as first generation or low-income college students. Based out of Barnard College and building upon existing successful opportunity programs, E(SP)2 will provide unique experiences representing the many Geoscience career paths by leveraging partnerships with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, NYC community organizations, and Black Rock Forest in Cornwall, NY.

E(SP)2 aims to achieve the following goals: 1) Foster a more diverse student and alumnae community at Barnard College, 2) Strengthen collaborations with NYC researchers and Environmental Justice (EJ) organizations, 3) Advance cohorts of Barnard Science PEERs through graduation with retention in the sciences beyond graduation, and 4) Promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion through curricular and co-curricular experiences. Ultimately, E(SP)2 Scholars will build their confidence and skills in scientific practice, thinking, and communication as valued members of a scientific community.

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.