| Abstract Detail
Education and Outreach Monfils, Anna [1], Poston, Muriel [2], Adams/, Catrina [3], Cacanindin, Heather [4]. Botany & Beyond: A new program to to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in botanical science. Research in the botanical sciences is critical as we seek to address the global challenges of climate change, invasive species, global food insecurity, biodiversity loss and securing the overall health of the planet. The Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020-2030 describes goals for the next ten years for the botanical sciences and emphasizes the importance of addressing plant awareness and cultivating a diverse and inclusive community of scientists who can accelerate discovery, research and applied botanical sciences. A fundamental understanding of plant biology is critical for addressing our changing planet; at the foundation of advancing botanical science is an inclusive, accessible, and equitable engagement of a global community. To that end, the Preparing Leaders and Nurturing Tomorrow's Scientists: Botany and Beyond (PLANTS III) Award (DEB-2138730) was designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and foster an awareness of botanical science and its relevance to solving global challenges in future generations. The program is designed to engage a diverse community of undergraduate students, educators, and emerging professionals and promote education in botanical sciences through local, regional and national programming centered on the Annual BOTANY conference. The five year program will support three annual events over a 5 year period starting in 2022: 1) Science Identity & Biodiversity Careers Workshops held in a museum, herbarium, or botanical garden. Annually over 50 undergraduates will have the opportunity to learn about diverse and cross-disciplinary pathways to successful careers in botanical science and allied disciplines and 8 faculty are introduced to inquiry-based botanical science educational resources. 2) Inclusive Teaching Initiative held concurrent with the Annual BOTANY conference where 12 faculty from minority serving institutions (MSIs), Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Community Colleges (CC), participate in programming and share experiences with evidence-based teaching and inclusive mentoring together with educators, researchers, and professional botanists who regularly attend the conference. 3) PLANTS III Pathways Program held at the Annual BOTANY conference where 15 undergraduate URM students and 30 mentors work together and explore botanical research, network across the society, and learn about botanical careers. In this talk, we will introduce the expanded program and describe specific short- and long-term goals for the program, individual programmatic elements, assessment plans, and ways we can all engage in programmatic planning, implementation, and society engagement. We will describe plans for recruitment strategies to engage participants who are historically excluded from science (based on ethnicity, race, gender identity, disability status, sexual orientation, first generation, low-income and/or non-traditional, etc.) and detail specific programmatic elements in support of creating inclusive spaces for emerging botanists. By providing botanical programming and supporting students, emerging professionals, faculty, and career professionals with a diversity of experiences, the proposed program can create accessible opportunities that engage, support, and sustain emerging professionals, foster inclusive practices across the society, increase plant awareness, and advance research and training for a more diverse, inclusive and accessible 21st century culture in the botanical sciences.
1 - Central Michigan University, Department of Biology, Mount Pleasant, MI, 48858, USA
2 - Pitzer College, Claremont , CA
3 - Botanical Society Of America, United States
4 - Botanical Society Of America, 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO, 63110, United States
Keywords:
Diversity
Education
Botany & Beyond.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: EO1001
Abstract ID:1030
Candidate for Awards:None |
