GP-UP: Building Opportunities through Networks of Discovery in the Geosciences (GEOBOND)

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

Fresno State and the State Center Community College District serve the agriculturally-rich, ethnically-diverse, and socio-economically disadvantaged San Joaquin Valley of California, providing critical educational pathways for geoscience majors and careers. This project will strengthen professional networks and streamline student pathways within the San Joaquin Valley, which has been affected by severe air pollution, drought and water contamination issues, and climate change impacts, all of which disproportionately impact socio-economically disadvantaged communities.

PIs plan to implement a student support system, along with community-based problem solving curriculum, and undergraduate research experiences that cross institutions. The project aims to increase the number and diversity of students entering and graduating from undergraduate geoscience majors in order to support an innovative and committed geoscience workforce that can tackle environmental justice challenges in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.

Building Opportunities through Networks of Discovery in the GEOsciences (GEOBOND) is a collaboration between Fresno State (four year college) and multiple local two-year colleges to create a novel student support system for undergraduate geoscience students that accommodates the various pathways through which they join the program at Fresno State: first-time freshmen, change of major, and transfer students. The project involves three-mutually reinforcing activities:1) Developing an undergraduate Geoscience Learning Community cohort program that includes a connected sequence of courses, co-curricular professional development activities, and scaffolded research experiences; 2) forming a Professional Learning Community to collaboratively re-design geoscience courses across partner institutions that incorporate environmental justice themes and evidence-based teaching strategies; and 3) establishing a Community-Based Research Program to investigate local environmental issues in collaboration with community organizations and geoscience professionals.

The proposed project will advance knowledge about which strategies are most effective for recruiting and retaining undergraduate students and creating inclusive environments in the geosciences that are attractive and supportive to students from groups that have been historically excluded in STEM.

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.