AmericanChemicalSociety.com

To address the lack of ethnic diversity in the geosciences, the American Geological Institute (AGI) developed the Minority Participation Program (MPP) in 1971. The MPP is the longest-running diversity initiative in the geosciences, and has a goal of maintaining and increasing incrementally the number of students entering the geoscience pipeline and being retained through to graduation and careers. More than 1050 minority geosciences students have been awarded academic scholarships from the MPP and have been supported through mentoring programs.

In 2009-2010, the AGI MPP program offered 18 awards to top undergraduate and graduate students. The program increased networking opportunities for MPP Scholars, tapping into social networking sites and holding social events with scholars at scientific meetings. AGI staff recruited two additional MPP Selection Committee members to serve in the selection process and as mentors in the 2010-2011 school year.

Ethnic minority groups are significantly underrepresented in the geosciences, comprising only about 2.5% of all geoscience students at all levels. With minority populations in the United States increasing, the recruitment and retention of the best minority students in the geosciences is essential to the growth of the discipline and for effectively meeting society’s needs for future energy, water, minerals, and hazard mitigation.  The failure of the geoscience community to attract increased percentages of the minority population unnecessarily restricts its access to the future pool of the highest potential scientists in our country.

2009-2010 Scholarship Awards

For the school year 2009-2010, AGI’s Minority Participation Program awarded 18 scholarships to students majoring in the geosciences at universities across the country. Awards ranged in size from $565 to $2935, for a total award amount awarded of $35,090. Each student received a merit scholarship, plus an additional sum of money to pay for professional development expenses, such as field camp, scientific meeting attendance, or professional society membership.  

AGI MPP scholars also receive a mentor from the geosciences community. In 2009-2010, six mentors from the AGI MPP Advisory Committee, plus 18 mentors from the geoscience department at each student’s home university, provided mentoring contact and guidance to the MPP Scholars.

2009-2010 MPP Scholar Demographics

Nine of the 2009-2010 MPP scholars were undergraduates, and nine were graduate students. 61 percent were Hispanic, 22 percent were African American, and 17 percent were Native American or Pacific Islander. Sixty-seven percent of scholars were male, compared to 46% in 2008-2009. To compare the 2009-2010 students to all past AGI MPP scholars, forty-four percent of all past AGI MPP scholars were Hispanic, 39 percent were African American, 12 percent were Native American and five percent were multi-ethnic or not specified. Fifty-six percent of all MPP scholars were male.

Twenty universities from 17 states are represented by the 2009-2010 AGI MPP scholars. Fifty-four percent of the scholars are undergraduate students.

Program Outreach and Publicity

Increasing networking opportunities for MPP scholars was a program goal for 2009-2010. In December 2009, AGI held an informal meeting of former MPP Scholars at the American Geophysical Union, and reconnected with 12 former scholars who are working in geophysical fields. AGI recruited additional mentors for the MPP Selection Committee, including a former scholar who participated in the program in the 1980s. AGI also started a facebook group for former AGI MPP scholars, and connected it to the larger AGI social network, GeoConnection. AGI is continuing to explore ways to network with former scholars and expand the MPP program’s reach through building relationships among minority students and professionals.

AGI also reached out to HBCU and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, most of whom do not have traditional geoscience departments. As a result of these outreach efforts, AGI awarded two MPP Scholarships to students in physics/geoscience programs at HBCU’s for 2009-2010.

MPP Operation and Funding

Cindy Martinez of AGI continued to manage the MPP program during the 2009-2010 school year, with volunteer support from an advisory committee. The MPP Advisory Committee assists the AGI staff in promoting the MPP program, recruiting students to apply, and reviewing scholarship applications. In addition, members of the committee serve as mentors for successful scholarship candidates throughout the school year. The Committee does not meet in person, but held an annual teleconference in August 2009 to make awards for 2009-2010, and corresponds by email and phone during the year.

This was a difficult year for fundraising for the AGI MPP program as a direct result of the economic downturn and uncertainty in the US financial markets.  Financial support was provided by ACS Petroleum Research Fund, ExxonMobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation, Marathon Corporation, the Seismological Society of America, the Geological Society of America, and individual donors.