GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Geography Diversity Initiatives at California State University, Long Beach: The Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program Geography Diversity Initiatives at California State University, Long Beach: The Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Program Christine M. Rodrigue Professor and Chair Department of Geography California State University Long Beach, CA

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Geography Major Enrollments in the California State Universities  Geography in the CSU slid 30% from 1,184 in F/92 to 829 in F/02  Geography major enrollments in the CSU have eased back up 10% from F/02 to 910 in F/05

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Geography at CSULB Compared with All California State Universities  The Beach dropped from 9% of all CSU geography majors in F/92 to 7% in F/00  CSULB relative enrollments have shot up to 13% of the whole in F/05  CSULB accounts for fully 64% of the total system growth in geography from F/02 to F/05!

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Geography Initiatives at CSULB to Increase the Diversity and the Number of Majors Geography has tried to find out where our majors come from and then worked on cultivating those sources: Community college transfers General education advising by Academic Advising and other offices advising the undeclared major Geography has developed friendly relationships with other programs in similar circumstances and there are a number of win-win collaborations The one I’ll focus on today is the Geoscience Diversity Enhancement Project (GDEP)

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Relative Size of Geography & Cognate Majors at CSULB as a Function of Diversity  Geography, Geology, Anthropology, and Environmental Science & Policy enrollments as a percentage of their maximum enrollments F/97- F/05 by the percentage of their majors who are non- Hispanic white  As diversity drops, so do enrollments!

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP: Interdisciplinary Partnerships To Improve Opportunities for Students A 3 year teaming among CSULB faculty in Geological Sciences, Geography, and Anthropology Committed to working across departments and colleges and with 5 community colleges (CC) and 5 LBUSD high schools -- to provide interdisciplinary earth system science research opportunities Dedicated to closing the gap between community demographics and 4- year college geoscience student demographics (i.e., fewer underrepresented students in geosciences compared to their community populations) Activities include assessment of attitudes toward geosciences among CSULB, community college, and LBUSD students intensive eight-week summer research institute involving CSULB, LBUSD, CC students, and faculty)

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP Partners & Field Sites 0 4 miles CSULB LBUSD HS CC Red = Low Income Areas

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP Outcomes Extensive Summer Research Program: Student involvement: 29 students involved over 3 years (27 from underrepresented groups) Faculty involvement: >30 CSULB, community college, and high school faculty Observable Changes in Participant Attitudes: Students: greater self-confidence, higher educational aspirations, nearly all in the geosciences Community college and high school faculty: more hands-on class activities, more knowledge of geoscience career possibilities CSULB faculty : better understanding of challenges students face – particularly students from urban, lower income areas; more interest in community-based, interdisciplinary, earth systems science research projects Dissemination: Publications: 5 papers published or in press in geoscience and/or education oriented journals, 1 with student co-authors Abstracts of presentations: >30, about half with student co-authors Website:

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP Outcomes: Growth and Diversification

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP Outcomes: Growth and Diversification in Geography

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO GDEP and Gender: Geography Is Still Lagging

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Conclusions Enrollments in geography CAN grow IF departments reach out to others with common interests, e.g., in the earth and environment, both on the same campus and at other institutions nearby IF departments creatively explore advising channels on their campuses and among source campuses IF departments implement structures and programs that reward working together, such as the GDEP research experience for undergraduates Our appeal cannot be confined to a declining demographic Success in recruiting increasingly demands catching the attention of underrepresented minority students, especially in California and other border states It also requires appealing to the job-centric working class and poor student, particularly in comprehensive urban universities … and universities with rural service areas Gender balance has improved but there are still expansion possibilities in recruiting women and girls

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO Acknowledgments and More Information All of us who participated in GDEP would like to thank and acknowledge the National Science Foundation We received $852,000 under NSF GEO Geography, Geological Sciences, and Anthropology at CSULB Long Beach City College, Cerritos College, El Camino College, Saddleback College, Orange Coast College, Irvine Valley College, Long Beach Unified School District high schools Information about GDEP and “The Beach”

GDEP is funded by NSF GEO