BUILDING BRIDGES FROM HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO TRANSFORMATIVE SEAGOING EXPERIENCES THROUGH STEMSEAS

Since 2016 the STEM Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS) project has worked to increase the number and diversity of undergraduate students who participate in seagoing science and ultimately enter the fields of Earth and ocean sciences. We noticed in the first several years of the project, however, that we were not getting as many applications from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) students as we had anticipated based on program design. To address this shortfall in applications we leveraged supplemental funds from the NSF INCLUDES program to engage influential thought leaders in a seagoing experience. Our goal was building partnerships that enable more HBCU students to go to sea with support from faculty serving as expedition mentors. With this goal in mind, we invited faculty from Savannah State, Coppin State, Tennessee State, Morehouse College, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and the founder of SuperGirls Shine Foundation (SGSF) to participate in a 9-day expedition on the R/V Neil Armstrong from Woods Hole, MA to Pensacola, FL January 2-11, 2023. During the expedition, our objectives were to facilitate faculty having experiences similar to what students do aboard STEMSEAS expeditions, and to spend time collaborating and moving us closer to our goal of broader participation in Earth and ocean sciences. We sought to strengthen connections between HBCUs and STEMSEAS, but also to build meaningful connections with SGSF, which encourages underrepresented girls in STEM fields in the Houston area. Doing this entailed discussing mechanisms to connect STEM-interested girls with seagoing science, and to enable HBCU faculty to act as seagoing science mentors both on their home campuses but also as future STEMSEAS instructors. Following the expedition STEMSEAS leaders visited Baltimore, Houston, and Atlanta to engage in discussions of innovative, impactful, and sustainable mechanisms to engage historically excluded young people in Earth and ocean sciences. Furthermore, in June and July the project supported the travel of several of these thought leaders to subsequent meetings for continued discussions. We will share details of the expedition and follow-up initiatives that hold promise.