Talk given at GSA Annual Meeting. For abstract and details: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper284916.html For more on these topics: www.robynmdahl.com/blog

1. “UNDERREPRESENTED”
IS NOT JUST A
BUZZWORD:
A c l o s e r l o o k a t t h e l a c k o f
e t h n i c & r a c i a l d i v e r s i t y i n
t h e g e o s c i e n c e s a n d
p o t e n t i a l s o l u t i o n s
R O B Y N M I E K O D A H L , K Y L I E C A E S A R & M A R Y D R O S E R
D E P T. O F E A R T H S C I E N C E S
U C R I V E R S I D E

2. UNDERREPRESENTED
What does it mean to be an underrepresented minority (URM) within the
geosciences (and/or STEM)?
• ”Women, persons with disabilities, and three racial and ethnic groups—
blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians or Alaska Natives—are
considered underrepresented in S&E. They constitute disproportionately
smaller percentages of S&E degree recipients and of employed
scientists and engineers than they do the rest of the U.S. population.” –
NSF, 2015
• While Asians are not underrepresented in STEM, we include this group
in our analysis of ethnic & racial diversity within the geosciences
• Racial & ethnic groups used in this study: Hispanic or Latino, African
American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian

3. NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS
CURRENT SNAPSHOT & PROJECTIONS
Source: Pew Research Center, 2016
US Census Bureau, 2016
In 2015
• White (not Hispanic or Latino) 61.6%
• African American 13.3%
• Hispanic or Latino 17.6%
• American Indian or Native Alaskan 1.2%
• Asian 5.6%
Hispanic/Latino has been the fastest growing
group
Asian projected to outpace Hispanic/Latino in
the coming decades

4. NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS
CURRENT SNAPSHOT & PROJECTIONS
Source: Pew Research Center, 2016
In 2012, URM+API students comprised 40% all college students
College enrollment is shifting to better reflect the nation, but we aren’t there yet
Large disparity in graduation rates (enrollment =/= graduation)

5. GEOSCIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
DATA SOURCES
• Earned geoscience degrees: Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD
• NSF Science & Engineering Indicators Report
• American Geosciences Institute (AGI)
• Geoscience faculty
• Estimate from National Center for Education Statistics?
• Estimate from NSF Science & Engineering Indicators Report?
• AGI?
• Workforce
• NSF Science & Engineering Indicators Report
• AGI

6. GEOSCIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
Average Number of Earth Sciences Degrees Awarded per year:
Bachelor’s Master’s PhD
Total 3686 1310 443
White or Caucasian (not
Hispanic)
3057 956 249
Asian or Pacific Islander 100 25 11
Black or African American 61 19 4
Hispanic 163 42 10
American Indian or Alaska
Native
29 9 1
Other 276 260 160
Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013
US Census Bureau, 2010

7. GEOSCIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
12
19
8 7 8 6
16
8
12 10 11 12 13
9
2
3
2 6 3
2
0
3
5
4
5 3
10
5
6
6
1
3
10
9
10
12
13
12
13
11
11
195
0
0
1
2
2
0
1
2
1
1
0
1 4
25 20
13
18
10
21
12
34
35 43
40
28
30 24
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
URM EARTH SCIENCE DOCTORATES EARNED
2000-2013
Other/Unknown Race or
Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaska
Native
Average per year, total: 443
Average per year, URM + API: 26
Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013

8. RETENTION VS. ATTRITION
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
9.27%
7.12% 6.01%
8.36%
6.78%
3.32%
8.19%
4.81%
3.35%
0.66%
0.42%
0.32%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
22%
24%
26%
BACH EL O R'S MAS TER'S P H D
PERCENTAGE OF S&E DEGREES AWARDED TO
URM STUDENTS
Asian American or Asian
African American or Black
26.48
%
19.13
%
13.00
% Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013
US Census Bureau, 2010
From 2000-2013, URM+API
students accounted for 26.48%
of Bachelor’s degrees awarded
in S&E
URM Bachelor’s awardees are
represented at about half the
share “expected” from national
demographics
Through higher degree levels,
URM+API students experience
high rates of attrition
Note: within S&E, API students are
overrepresented compared to
national demographics (5.6% in
2015)

9. RETENTION VS. ATTRITION
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
8.60%
4.93% 4.86%
5.47%
2.70%
1.72%
5.93%
3.39%
2.33%
0.61%
0.38%
0.22%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
BACHELOR'S MASTER'S PHD
PERCENTAGE OF PS DEGREES AWARDED TO
URM STUDENTS
Asian American or Asian
African American or Black
20.61
%
11.4% 9.13%
From 2000-2013, URM+API
students accounted for
20.61% of Bachelor’s degrees
awarded in Physical Sciences
Lower representation with
similar attrition within
Physical Sciences, compared
to S&E
Note: API students are
overrepresented compared to
national demographics at
Bachelor’s but slightly
underrepresented at higher
degrees
Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013
US Census Bureau, 2010

10. RETENTION VS. ATTRITION
EARTH SCIENCES
2.63%
1.87%
2.47%
1.63%
1.40%
0.84%
4.25%
3.11%
2.13%
0.79%
0.65%
0.33%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
BACHELOR'S MASTER'S PHD
PERCENTAGE OF ES DEGREES AWARDED TO
URM STUDENTS
Asian American or Asian
African American or Black
9.3% 7.03% 7.57%
Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013
US Census Bureau, 2010
From 2000-2013, URM+API
students accounted for 9.3%
of Bachelor’s degrees
awarded in Earth Sciences
Lower representation with
lower attrition within Earth
Sciences, compared to
Physical Sciences and S&E
API are underrepresented in
Earth Sciences, unlike in
Physical Sciences and S&E

11. RETENTION VS. ATTRITION
26.48%
19.13%
13.00%
20.61%
11.40%
9.13%9.30%
7.03%
5.77%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Bachelor's Master's PhD
URM ATTRITION RATES
S&E Physical Science Earth Science
URM+API comprise a smaller
fraction of Earth Sciences
students than in PS and S&E
Earth Sciences experiences a
smaller rate of attrition than in
PS and S&E
This suggests a failure to
recruit more than retain
URM students in Earth
Sciences
Source: NSF S&E Indicators 2000-2013

12. NATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS
RACE/ETHNICITY OF COLLEGE FACULTY
Source: NCES, 2015
“In fall 2013, there were 1.5 million faculty in degree-granting postsecondary institutions: 51 percent
were full-time and 49 percent were part-time.”
“Among full-time professors, 84 percent were White (58 percent were White males and 26 percent
were White females), 4 percent were Black, 3 percent were Hispanic, and 9 percent were
Asian/Pacific Islander. Making up less than 1 percent each were professors who were American
Indian/Alaska Native and of Two or more races.”

13. COLLEGE FACULTY
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1973 1980 1987 1994 2001 2008
All Physical Sciences
Faculty
White Asian or Pacific Islander URM
From 1973-2013, the share of
URM+API has grown to represent:
• 23.6% of all Physical Sciences
faculty
• 20.7% of full time Physical
Sciences faculty
Better representation than college
faculty of all fields (previous slide)
Unknown if these numbers serve as a
realistic stand-in for the geosciences
Source: NSF, 2016

14. GEOSCIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
WORKFORCE
URM are even more severely underrepresented in the workforce than in
academic programs
Source: AGI, 2010

15. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
HOW DO WE INCREASE URM RECRUITMENT?
PARTNER WITH K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICTS
In CA, geoscience does not factor into the K-12 curriculum for college-bound students
due to UC/CSU lab science requirements
Outreach programs that increase URM students’ exposure to the outdoors and
opportunities within geoscience can increase likelihood of a student pursuing a
geoscience major in college (Stokes et al., 2015)
EXAMPLE: UCR is creating a “field camp” for high school students and
supplementing Environmental Science classes (funded via NSF GEOPATHS)
K-12
2-Yr
College
4-Yr
College
Master’s PhD Workforce

16. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
HOW DO WE INCREASE URM RECRUITMENT?
PARTNER WITH 2YR
COLLEGES
Nearly half of all Physical Science
bachelor’s recipients attended a 2YR
college vs. 27% of geoscience
graduates (AGI, 2014)
48% of Hispanic students and 36% of
African American students currently
enrolled attend a 2YR college (Pew,
2016)
EXAMPLE: UCR offers geoscience
research internships for local 2YR
college students, joint field trips,
mentoring, and transfer assistance
(funded via NSF GEOPATHS)

17. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
GEODE Project Collaborating Institutions: Riverside City College,
San Bernardino Valley College, Chaffey College, Riverside Unified
School District
GEODE Project Collaborators: Bill Phelps, Jeremy Standerfer, Jeffery
Jambretz
Others: UCR Dept. of Earth Sciences faculty and student volunteers