New College Environmental Health Science Scholars: A Unique Summer Program Designed to Increase Diversity in the Environmental Health Sciences - Project Summary
The lack of diversity in science and technology is a well-documented, ongoing national issue. Increasing
diversity of students in science is a national imperative for several reasons, including economic,
social justice, technological innovation, and creative problem solving. A scientist's approach to a problem,
and how that problem could be solved is dependent on the sum total of their life experiences and as those
experiences are often dependent on their agency, thusly it is critical to stimulate a diverse scientific academy.
Promoting diversity helps reduce bias and promotes different world views. Practically, science careers are
generally higher paying. Therefore, we must provide a mechanism for all who wish to pursue professional
opportunities in the sciences. Underrepresented minorities have generally been discouraged or systematically
prevented from science careers and in order to remedy these past injustices, we must ensure equal access
and opportunity for all who wish to pursue a STEM degree. In order to answer the critical challenges within
environmental health sciences, we need a large and varied assembly of scientists to tackle the issues that
face our future, to dream of solutions not yet contemplated, to create solutions to problems not yet
encountered. In order to create an environment where varied students can thrive and prepare to manage our
future, we propose a robust, structured summer research program, the New College Environmental Health
Science Scholars (NCEHSS), to bolster diverse young scholars’ interest in environmental health careers.
Recruitment will be primarily from community colleges, and exclusively from Maricopa County, the nation’s
fastest growing county, with a 30% Hispanic and 3% Native American population. NCEHSS will enroll nine
underrepresented scholars into a mentored summer research program, matching students with a faculty
mentor in ASU’s School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Students will be supported on their path to
graduate programs with intensive coursework and professional development, including a course entitled
How to Be a Scientist, covering topics including presentation and data analysis skills. Students will also
receive training in techniques with a Research Techniques in Environmental Health Sciences course. They
will participate in active learning in environmental health sciences, via a risk versus reward approach, in
an Environmental Health Sciences Tutorial. To support students’ development as ethical scientists, a robust
course in the Responsible Conduct of Research will challenge them with activities, case studies, and knotty
problems in science. The keystone of NCEHSS will be an Open House Family Night Research
Symposium with a poster session, where students share their research with the people most important to
them. NCEHSS will also develop networking programs between the community colleges, the New
College environmental health sciences, and existing structures at ASU. Finally, NCEHSS invites students to
continue in their lab at ASU after successful completion of the program to further develop them as a scientist
and support their goals to matriculate to graduate school.
