Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Diversity Outreach — Highlights

1)  SIO is developing  a partnership with the Department of Biology at Howard University (http://138.238.136.125), Washington, D.C. through annual visits to promote awareness of the STARS undergraduate summer research opportunities at SIO and UCSD, and awareness of the graduate programs at SIO and UCSD.  The primary liaison has been Dr. Mary McKenna http://www.biology.howard.edu/Faculty/FacultyBios/McKenna.htm).  SIO has cooperated with OGS in sending faculty to speak at Howard University and is developing contact with some administrators at Howard University (viz., Dr. Chontrese M. Doswell, Assistant Dean for Retention, Mentoring, and Support Programs and Dr. Orlando  L. Taylor, Vice Provost fro Research and Dean of the Graduate School).

2) SIO is developing a partnership with the Meyerhoff Fellowship Program (http://www.umbc.edu/meyerhoff/) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (an honors campus) through annual visits to the campus and Meyerhoff Program, meetings with President Freeman Hrawbowski, III (http://www.umbc.edu/aboutumbc/president/index.php ), and recent participation in the 20th Anniversary Meyerhoff Symposium.  Meyerhoff Fellows have come to SIO for the STARS summer program and have applied to SIO.  A female Meyerhoff Fellow is now entering the PhD program in physical oceanography at SIO.  Through SIO’s developing relationship with the Meyerhoff Program and UMBC, an African American female scientist applied for a tenure track position in biology at SIO.  Although she was not a successful candidate for that position she remains in contact with SIO (she is currently an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow working with NOAA in DC with an SIO alumnus).

3) SIO is cooperating with the CEA_CREST Program (http://cea-crest.calstatela.edu/) and its successor program CEAS at Cal State Los Angeles by providing seminar and plenary lecture speakers for their programs, providing members for their External Advisory Board, and working with Masters students in their program.  Underrepresented students in the program have heard presentations from SIO representatives and have been given tours of SIO, as well as useful information about applying to the PhD program at SIO.  SIO will continue this association with CSULA and plans to begin a similar involvement with CSU Fullerton.

4)  SIO takes a lead in maintaining a UCSD presence at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS http://www.sacnas.org) meeting each year.  That presence includes not only an information table for SIO programs, but also organization of a student symposium focused on marine biology.    Similarly, SIO has cooperated with OGS in having an exhibitor table at the annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Research  (HBCU UP) Conference (http://ehrweb.aaas.org/HBCU/) and using the event to reach out to science, math, and engineering students from underrepresented groups.

5)  SIO has established direct contact with  Hampton University (http://www.hamptonu.edu/) (specifically, with the Marine and Environmental Science program http://www.hamptonu.edu/academics/schools/science/marine/) and the Department of Natural Sciences  (http://www.umes.edu/sciences/) at the University of Maryland Easter Shore (http://www.umes.edu/ , both HBCUs, and has provided science seminars and SIO-UCSD program information presentations at both institutions.  In cooperation with OGS, SIO sent a faculty member to present a second research seminar at UMES.

6)  SIO is developing Diversity Matters at SIO web pages for its web site (cf. http://sio.ucsd.edu/Diversity/) and has supported the development of the Grassroots Diversity Action Working Group (SIO GDAWG) that involving faculty, staff, and students in improving diversity at SIO (cf. http://complex-systems.ucsd.edu/gdawg-sio/gdawg-sio.html).  GDAWG recently celebrated its first anniversary with a very successful “Taste of Diversity” celebration of diversity at SIO.