AGU LANDInG to encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion leaders in geoscience

AGU’s Diversity, Ethics and Inclusion program is launching a new initiative in 2021 to help improve diversity within the geosciences, as well as support more inclusive environments in the broader science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. To fully catalyze solutions to scientific and societal challenges, a diverse and inclusive scientific culture must exist.

AGU LANDInG (Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences-Research Coordination Network) will cultivate and elevate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) champions within the geosciences to drive the culture shift.

Led by AGU and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, AGU LANDInG will develop a sustainable network of leaders to champion DEI values and practices. By providing learning and professional development opportunities for geoscientists, faculty members and academic leaders, this new program will both encourage greater DEI efforts and broaden participation across geoscience disciplines.

In partnership with other geoscience societies, including the Geological Society of America and the American Meteorological Society, AGU LANDInG will:

  1. Implement an open access, virtual platform of resources to support a broad community of DEI champions in both industry and academia, which will develop into a thriving community of practice (CoP).
  2. Develop and implement a two-year, cohort-based program for professional development in DEI leadership within the geosciences.
  3. Create opportunities for DEI champions to have direct experience leading DEI initiatives. Within the CoP network, DEI champions will learn and be able to join DEI efforts across professional societies.
  4. Raise the visibility and recognition of DEI leadership in the geosciences.

Geoscience is the least racially and ethnically diverse of all STEM fields. Women remain underrepresented in geoscience professions even though 40% of undergraduate and graduate students identify as women. Less than 1% of physical science majors are people with disabilities, and this proportion is significantly lower than all other majors except mathematics. Advanced degrees are not the only indication of one’s success in the Earth and space sciences, yet AGU recognizes that we can and should do better than having only 15% of geoscience doctorates awarded to people of color. Until diversity is a fundamental feature of scientific excellence, the lack of an equitable, inclusive geoscience community will hamper scientific innovation and discovery.

Developing this equitable and inclusive environment in the geosciences requires a cultural shift, and leaders play a critical role, particularly in the workplace. AGU LANDInG will foster new collaborations that focus on practices related to the recognition and value that diversity leaders and their activities bring to institutions. The LANDInG Project will prepare and empower geoscientists to become agents of lasting institutional and societal change.

Ultimately, AGU LANDInG will provide annual cohorts of champions with resources, professional development and mentoring to develop equitable, inclusive and welcoming environments across all scientific disciplines.

Steering committee members

Principal investigator; Project executive director; AGU senior vice president, ethics, diversity, and inclusion
Co-principal Investigator; DEI Science Program Director; Assessment Team Lead
Senior Personnel; Network Development Team; Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Co-principal Investigator; Project director; Assessment Team Member; AGU director, Diversity and Inclusion
Senior Personnel; Network Development Team; Professor in the Department of Marine Science at California State University, Monterey Bay
Senior Personnel; Geoscience DEI Scholar; AGU Executive Vice President, Science
Co-principal Investigator; Leadership Development Program Director; Assessment team member; AGU Assistant Director, Grants and Education Programs
Senior Personnel; Network Leadership Development Team; Assistant Director for Academic Affairs & Diversity, ‎Columbia University

Advisory board members

Dean, College of Earth & Environment, University of Delaware
Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement, Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University
Regional Program Manager, NOAA; Certified Diversity Professional
Director of Research and Constituent Relations, Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN)
Professor, Arizona State University, AGU Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee member
Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan; ADVANCE STRIDE Committee
Associate Executive Director, American Meteorological Society (AMS)
NSF-Retired Program Director, Education & Diversity
Associate Professor Geosciences, Bryn Mawr College; Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Paleontological Society
Professor, Climate & Space Sciences, Engineering & Applied Physics, University of Michigan, AGU Education Section President
NOAA Deputy Director, Co-principal Investigator, NSF GOLD Project
Director, Education and Outreach, University of California Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, AGU Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee Chair, Board of National Association of Black Geoscientists
Professor & Chair, Department of Organizational Behavior, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Executive Director, Project Kaleidoscope; and Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities
021_41403_AGU LANDInG website photo_Vicki McConnell

Vicki McConnell

Executive Director, Geological Society of America
Professor, University of Rhode Island; DEI Filmmaker
Associate Professor, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California

This project is funded by National Science Foundation grant ICER-2036823.

Address

2000 Florida Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009

Phone

+1 202 462 6900