Leading Inclusive Transformation in Geoscience [LIT GEO]
LIT GEO Can Help You Find Your Path In Geoscience
Want to make a difference? Interested in geoscience research? Not sure if grad school is the right path for you? LIT GEO can help!
Get involved in meaningful geoscience research impacting communities in eastern North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
Ready for grad school? Jump into a fully-funded MS program at ECU or NCCU and get to work on research with a community partner.
Not quite sure if research is for you? Spend a year working full time in our post-baccalaureate programs at ECU, NCCU, and UPRA to work on important projects with communities and find out if grad school might be the right next step for you.
The main goal of the NSF-sponsored LIT GEO project is to broaden representation and create meaningful cultural change in the values expressed by the Geoscience community. Our approach involves conducting community-based, societally relevant geoscience research in learning ecosystems with community organizations because we value the knowledge and assets brought by all people, not just the ideas brought by “experts”. To support this transformation, participants in LIT GEO will participate in a collaborative Intercultural Network of Research, Mentoring, and Learning that shares knowledge, experience, and values across institutions.
LIT GEO aims to:
- Develop strategies for culturally transformative practices in geoscience.
- Create inclusive environments and train diverse graduate students and post-doctoral scholars empowering them to become change agents while pursuing long-term geoscience careers.
- Conduct research addressing community needs and focusing on societal-relevant geoscience in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. In partnership with community organizations, we will provide tangible outcomes that demonstrate the societal value of geoscience.
- Support research, training, and mentoring for graduating seniors prior to entering graduate school (post-baccalaureates), graduate students in our MS programs, post-doctoral scholars, and faculty.
- Provide training and workshops on diversity, decolonization, community science, communication, leadership, and data literacy and field experiences in partnership with communities facing environmental challenges during Intercultural Summits in NC and PR.
- Facilitate connections between community organizations, communities, and academic researchers through equitable partnerships.
- Establish new Institutional agreements to promote long-lasting cooperation and create inclusive environments across institutions and with communities. This will enable internship programs, mentorship, research, and building graduate curriculum with access to courses across the network.
Project Team:
East Carolina University (ECU): Adriana Heimann Rios, Edu Leorri, Alex Manda, Stephen Moysey
North Carolina Central University (NCCU): Gordana Vlahovic, Rakesh Malhorta, Chris McGinn, Tim Mulrooney
University of Puerto Rico @ Arecibo: Angel Acosta-Colón, Infante-Castillo, Rosado
Our Community Partners
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2326731. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.