PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE GEOSCIENCES IS VITAL TO STUDENT SUCCESS BY DEVELOPING A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY

Promoting diversity and inclusion in the geosciences is vital to student success by developing a safe and effective learning community. Intensive student recruitment programs, undergraduate research opportunities, and experiential learning opportunities are some of the ways that the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University has been able to cultivate undergraduate and graduate student development. GeoX and iGeo are intensive high-school on-campus recruitment programs designed to engage 10^th-12^th grade students from all backgrounds and locations to promote greater understanding of opportunities in the geosciences. These programs have been highly effective at increasing awareness of what ‘geosciences’ means while connecting each discipline to the multitude of associated diverse career paths. The traditional one-on-one approach to undergraduate research is not scalable and can deter potential undergraduates and faculty from participating in research. The Aggie Research Leadership (ARL) and Aggie Research Scholars (ARS) programs represent research-intensive community programs designed to engage undergraduate and graduate students in relevant publishable research. These programs represent a team-based, vertically-tiered, and multidisciplinary approach to research that can promote dialogue and increase inclusion at a research-intensive university. The programs are structured such that a faculty member serves as a mentor to one or more graduate students or postdocs, who, in turn, mentor(s) team(s) of 3 to 8 undergraduate students, freshmen to seniors. Undergraduate teams are encouraged to be multidisciplinary in order to leverage the experience and perspective that comes from students in different areas of study. Dialogue and collaboration with students from other fields of study increases student engagement because it removes the pressure of becoming an expert in all topics relating to the research. Eventually, the younger students will advance through to senior students and will have the opportunity to serve as mentors for incoming students. The College of Geosciences has been effective at promoting diversity and inclusion through innovative recruitment strategies, vertically-tiered research opportunities, and hands-on learning.