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Session G9: Invited Session: Broadening Participation in Physics and Other STEM Fields

11:15 AM–2:15 PM, Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Room: 308

Sponsoring Unit: FEd
Chair: Paul Cottle, Florida State University

Abstract ID: BAPS.2013.MAR.G9.3

Abstract: G9.00003 : Drawing minority students into the physics community

12:27 PM–1:03 PM

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Author:

Paul Gueye
(Hampton University/National Society of Black Physicists)

In the past few years, the number of African-American undergraduate physics students in the US had a steady decrease with dramatic consequences at many physics departments within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). A similar trend seems to also appear at the graduate level. HBCUs have been known to graduate more than 50{\%} of undergraduate physics majors within this community for many years, a role that is now evaporating. The US African-American community cannot lose the historical and sometimes unnoticed impact of HBCUs in the physics community. The ability for these institutions to recruit, maintain and graduate students with the highest degree has turned a corner and is endangered with the recent closings of many programs. We not only must reverse this trend but also implement a sustainable growth for the future. This is an enormous task for the education community. While there are many outstanding and successful programs that have been developed over the years to target particular areas ranging from early K-12 exposure to producing MS and PhD students, each community/culture is different: one cannot transport someone else's experience and/or program and infuse it into another community. Moreover, the focus must now be comprehensive and not anymore single-centered. This talk will outline some ongoing efforts within the National Society of Black Physicists aimed at infusing a global approach to this problem that targets school districts (K-12) and after school programs, undergraduate and graduate programs within HBCUs, and the larger physic and scientific community.

To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2013.MAR.G9.3