Progress 08/01/23 to 07/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience: We are focusing on two Educational Need Areas: 1) Student Experiential Learning and 2) Student Recruitment and Retention. Because systemic change requires multi-level and diverse stakeholder touchpoints, our proposed program targets faculty, staff, current students, alumni, and agencies, as well as HSI Fellows and will also improve the forestry curriculum at NAU and enhance faculty capacity to recruit, teach and advise Hispanic students. In our second year, we have recruited and trained 19 fellows (10 more than promised with other funding sources), as well as supported two graduate students (PhD student Chrissy Mott, MS student Amber born) through otherfunds to work on course development and help develop and coordinate student internship opportunities. We will bring in a third cohort of 13 scholars with HSI and other funding starting in Fall 2024. We have also engaged several faculty and agency staff in our programs, and have build a strong relationship with the Kaibab and Coconino National Forests to host internships. We have developed a recruiting video, are working on completing a second, and have conducted outreach at several local schools. We are also recruiting and advertising trough national conferences and through agency connections. Changes/Problems:We are on track and doing more than promised by leveraging other funding and programs. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our fellows engaged with faculty, agency partners and graduate students and have worked a great deal on professional development. All fellows have updated resumes and CVs, built LinkedIn profiles, worked on cover letters and learned how to navigate USA jobs, including applying for jobs. They have been introduced to many professionals, learned about various career pathways and built their networks. They have shadowed professionals under the Coconino National Forest Service in multiple disciplines and engaged in 320 hour internships with professionals across the field. Many have presented at conferences, and all have the opportunity to attend and present at the SACNAS conference this fall. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared at faculty meetings, developed a DEIJ committee in the Forestry faculty, as well as built partnerships with local FS, RMRS, NPS and partners at K-12 schools. We have worked with faculty and graduate students to disseminate best practices and create inclusive environments. We have created one outreach/recruitment video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjDNCWbjg6I), with another underway, and have partnered with the Undergraduate Research Office to enhance our reach. Our program was announced and highlighted through the press (the NAU Review): https://news.nau.edu/nau-flagstaff-receives-its-first-hispanic-serving-institution-grant-meet-the-two-women-whomade-it-happen/. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to deliver the program and include additional interns without separate funding. We will continue outreach locally at K-12 schools and with NAU Yuma. Additional supports through A.P. Sloan allowed us to build and deliver two one credit courses that are distributed across NAU-mountain, NAU -Yuma, Dine College (Tribal College), and Scottsdale Community College to help students from historically excluded backgrounds build their professional portfolios and learn about and plan for careers in STEM, including natural resources management. All students are welcome to participate.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This year we have accomplished the following under our goals. 1) to enhance the cultural responsiveness of forestry education in the School of Forestry, including policies, faculty, staff, curriculum and pedagogy, through the use of directed, required training for all faculty and staff, and policy development and use in the curriculum (e.g. diversity statements in course syllabi) and outreach materials, creating a Community of Practice: Six forestry faculty to date have participated in a year-long Anti-racist, equity-oriented Community of Practice for faculty funded by A. P. Sloan (co-PI Antoninka). We have created a committee to develop the faculty training program in Forestry. We have built and worked through several modules in focused faculty meetings and will share another at the faculty retreat on anti-racist and equity-oriented mentoring practices. Diversity statements have been added to syllabi and faculty are working to have added representation and issues around DIEJ into their coursework. 2) to provide experiential training, leadership development and science communication skills to at least 9 undergraduates: We have already trained 19 undergraduate students through curriculum, shadowing and internship or research experiences with partnership funding through AZWI and the Office of Undergraduate Research. We partnered with the NAU undergraduate research office to [AA1]offer thirteen additional internships. All students are from Latine or other historically excluded backgrounds in natural resources field and have been placed with: 1) NAU Forestry faculty researcher, 2) NAU Forestry faculty/ RMRS/FS partnerships (, 3) state forest 4) Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Ecologist, 5) Non-profit Restoration contractors, 6) Forest Service, and 7) National Park Service. 3) increase recruitment and retention of Hispanic students, through the use of targeted recruitment materials and development of a Community of Learners: We continue to do this through recruitment activities at local schools, creating media (video, news stories, etc), and building a community of learners. Our cohorts meet regularly together and are supported by graduate students with similar backgrounds, they have built friendships and expanded our outreach through club and social media engagement, and commitment to volunteerism. We have developed a new course (culturally responsive natural resources management) that we piloted this year and will continue offering in the future. Students completing the program and degrees have transitioned into natural resources jobs and graduate programs in all cases. Evaluation: Our evaluation plan includes interviews and survey work, and generally shows that our program is working. Students especially appreciate meeting professionals and learning about pathways, and building their professional portfolios. Students would like to engage in more outreach, which we will work on this year. Students also reported that their internships were excellent, and in some cases have led to future opportunities. Students suggested the funding was a huge help, but a higher amount would be appreciated (the cost of living in Flagstaff is extraordinarily high).
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Analyzing ponderosa pine growth rates and resin ducts on the Coconino National Forest, Alyssa Cherow, Kristen Waring, Tyler Gardner, Jose Negr�n. NAU UGS, April 2024
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Assessing wildfire retardant impacts on macroinvertebrate biodiversity in Southwestern seasonal wetlands
Assessing wildfire retardant impacts on macroinvertebrate biodiversity in Southwestern seasonal wetlands. Nadia J. Damra, Kalai M. Kollus, Catherine R. Propper Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ 86011
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Prey Abundance for the Jemez Mountains Salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus) Across a Fire Severity Gradient. Taytum Yirsa, Samuel Parra, Amber Born, Dr. Derek Uhey, Dr. Kara Gibson, Dr. Anita Antoninka, NAU UGS, April 2024
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Progress 08/01/22 to 07/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:We are focusingon two Educational Need Areas: 1) Student Experiential Learning and 2) Student Recruitment and Retention. Because systemic change requires multi-level and diverse stakeholder touchpoints, our proposed program targets faculty, staff, current students, alumni, and agencies, as well as HSI Fellows and will also improve the forestry curriculum at NAU and enhance faculty capacity to recruit, teach and advise Hispanic students. In our first year, we have recrutied and trained four fellows (one more than promised with internal supports), as well as supported one graduate studnet (PhD student Chrissy Mott) through internal funds to work on course development and student internship opportunities. We have also engaged several faculty and agency staff in our programs. We have developed a recruiting video, are working on completing a second, and have conducted outreach at several local schools. Changes/Problems:We have had to navigate the loss of our beloved leader, Dr. Yeon-Su Kim, and determine how to stay on track and continue to build our program. We have put Dr. Anita Antoninka in the lead position, and she has taken on the organization, curriculum development as well as the student training portion. The PI team and the addition of support from a graduate student have kept things moving forward. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our fellows engaged with faculty, agency partners and graduate students and have worked a great deal on professional development. All fellows have updated resumes and CVs, worked on cover letters and learned how to navigate USA jobs. They have been introduced to many professionals, learned aboutvarious career pathways and built their networks. They have shadowed professionals under the Coconino National Forest Service in multiple disciplines, and engaged in 320 hour internships with university and USDA professionals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have shared at two faculty meetings, developed a DEIJ committee in the Forestry faculty, as well as built partnerships with local FS, RMRS, and partners at K-12 schools. We have worked with faculty and graduate students to disseminate best practices and create inclusive environments. We have created one outreach/recruitment video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjDNCWbjg6I), with another underway, and have partnered with the Undergraduate Research Office to enhance our reach. Our program was announced and highlighted through the press (the NAU Review):https://news.nau.edu/nau-flagstaff-receives-its-first-hispanic-serving-institution-grant-meet-the-two-women-who-made-it-happen/. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will complete a second recruiting video and will continue outreach locally at K-12 schools and with NAU Yuma. Additional supports through A.P. Sloan allowed us to build and deliver two one credit courses that are distributed across NAU-mountain, NAU -Yuma, Dine College (Tribal College), and Scottsdale Community College to help students from historically excluded backgrounds build their professional portfolios and learn about and plan for careers in STEM, including natural resources management.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our program objectives have been shifted as a result of the loss of our lead PI, Dr. Yeon-Su Kim, to a tragic accident. We have shifted leadership (Dr. Anita Antoninka took the lead) and have made progress in all areas as listed under each objective. 1) to enhance the cultural responsiveness of forestry education in the School of Forestry, including policies, faculty, staff, curriculum and pedagogy, through the use of directed, required training for all faculty and staff, and policy development and use in the curriculum (e.g. diversity statements in course syllabi) and outreach materials, creating a Community of Practice Three forestry faculty participated in a year-long Anti-racist, equity-oriented Community of Practice for faculty funded by A. P. Sloan (co-PI Antoninka), and 4 additional will participate in year two. We have created a committee to develop the faculty training program and have already focused two faculty meetings (including one annual retreat) on anti-racist and equity oriented mentoring practices. Diversity statements have been added to syllabi and faculty are working to add representation and issues around DIEJ into their coursework. 2) to provide experiential training, leadership development and science communication skills to at least 9 undergraduates We have already trained four undergraduate students through curriculum, shadowing and internship or research experiences. We partnered with the NAU undergraduate research office to offer four, instead of three, internships. All students are from Latine backgrounds and have been placed with: 1) NAU Forestry faculty researcher (one), 2) NAU Forestry faculty/ RMRS/FS partnership (one), 3) state forest and 4) Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Ecologist (one). 3) increase recruitment and retention of Hispanic students, through the use of targeted recruitment materials and development of a Community of Learners. We are building here through recruitment activities at local schools, creating media (one video completed, and another under way), and building a community of learners. Our first cohort has bonded well, built friendships and expands our outreach through club and social media engagement as well. We have developed a new course (culturally responsive natural resources management) that will be offered to our next cohort.
Publications
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