THE NSF OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENHANCING DIVERSITY IN THE GEOSCIENCES (OEDG) PROGRAM: A DESCRIPTION OF 50 PROJECTS DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN THE GEOSCIENCES

Since 2001, the Directorate for Geosciences of the National Science Foundation, through the Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) program, has made 50 grant awards. Proposals are solicited in alternate years; awards for the 2005 year were announced in July 2005. Through this program, grants are provided to colleges, universities, and other organizations, to support the development and operation of projects that are intended to increase participation in the geosciences by African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (American Indians and Alaskan Natives), Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesians or Micronesians), and persons with disabilities.

Data about the operations and impacts of these projects were obtained from project reports submitted to the National Science Foundation. In the 2002/2003 fiscal year, approximately 11,500 individuals were directly or indirectly served by the first cohort of OEDG projects; in the 2003/2004 fiscal year, about 40,000 individuals received direct or indirect services. This increase reflects, among other factors, the fact that a second cohort of grantees' projects became operational in the 2003/2004 fiscal year.

A typology has been developed for the OEDG program, enabling the classification of projects with respect to: (1) audiences served; (2) methods used in serving these audiences; (3) project evaluation activities, and (4) project impacts. Target audiences range from elementary school students and teachers to graduate students, college faculty, high school guidance counselors, and the general public. In the first two cohorts, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of the projects had high school students and over three-quarters (77 percent) had college students as their target audience. (Many projects had more than one target audience.) Two-thirds (67 percent) of the projects developed formal courses or curriculum; half (50 percent) provided internships or research opportunities; and five-sixths (83 percent) provided financial support or incentives for participation.