Meeting Abstract
The underrepresentation of certain groups in higher academia and STEM fields is directly contrasted by the overrepresentation of these same groups in U.S. community colleges. Relative to their peers at four-year institutions, community college students are much more likely to come from low-income households, are much more likely to identify as members of an underrepresented minority group, and are much more likely to be first-generation college students. Unfortunately, few community colleges offer access to research experiences or specialized biological disciplines, leaving diverse students less prepared to pursue these disciplines or scientific research later in their academic career. This creates an opportunity for museums and four-year institutions to partner with local community colleges to both enrich students’ educational experience and increase accessibility to our fields. At the University of California Museum of Paleontology at UC Berkeley, we have developed a program which integrates custom-built, fossil-based laboratory class sessions into the course curricula of local community colleges. By enabling community college students to actively engage with the field of paleobiology and interact with students, researchers, and faculty mentors working in the field, we intend to create an environment where community college students may gain both interest in the field and confidence in their ability to pursue higher academia. We hope that we may help provide a blueprint by which other institutions can build avenues for local community college students to explore their interests and eventually bring their diverse backgrounds and perspectives into our fields.
