THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MORRIS GEOLOGY PROGRAMS INITIATIVES TO ENCOURAGE THE PARTICIPATION OF NATIVE AMERICANS

The University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) Geology program has made a concerted effort to encourage Native American undergraduates to pursue careers in the Geosciences in particular, and the sciences overall. In 2007 there were 33 Native American STEM Majors and UMM now has 101 Native American STEM Majors. Enrollment of Native Americans in the Geology Discipline during the same interval of time has risen from 1 Native American major to 10. Native Americans make up 40% of the UMM Geology majors.

Contributing to these successes are: the UMM campus history and Native American tuition waiver, state of the art facilities, a supportive and engaged recruiting and advising staff, and committed, quality faculty. More recent successes are the result of programs that emphasize pathways to careers in the Geosciences. Outreach by geology faculty and students involving presentations on: “a box of cool rocks” and “what can you learn from dinosaur fossils” introduce Native American grade school students to the science of geology and educational opportunities at UMM. Programs for High School students, including the Wind-STEP program and “This Weekend Rocks”, are designed to provide an academic experience away from the reservation. UMM Native American Undergraduate Geology majors have the opportunity to complete faculty mentored undergraduate research, study abroad and to share their experiences as mentors in the outreach and high school programs. In the end, success comes when many stake holders across campus work together.

Support provided by the NSF-STEM Talent Enhancement Program (STEP) Grant (NSF/DUE-0653063), an AISES Minigrant and a grant from the N.S.F.-R.E.U Program (NSF-EAR 1262945).