Reaching Out to Underserved Communities

The observation that there is a lack of diversity in the sciences is not new. The most recent NSF survey [1] reveals that in the Biological and Physical Sciences, underserved students make up 19 and 12 percent of the total graduate student population in U.S. academic institutions. Such numbers should alarm the broader scientific community given the large pool of untapped scientific talent and the ever increasing need to develop the U.S. scientific workforce. We can look at the Ocean Sciences as a particular case study into some of the potential causes of the lack of diversity in the sciences and methods for increasing participation by underrepresented students in the field. Among the sciences, the Ocean Sciences have some of the lowest numbers of underserved student participation with only 8.8 percent of all Ocean Science graduate students identifying as belonging to a group historically underserved in the sciences [1]. Given the rapid shifts in the demographics of coastal states, it's imperative to identify potential barriers to and, new recruitment strategies for engaging historically underrepresented students in the Ocean Sciences. It will be this new generation of students who will be tasked with managing coastal resources and combating the effects of climate change and will be asked to bring new perspectives for dealing with the emerging needs of 21st century Ocean Science.