The TEAM_UP TOGETHER Project: Supporting African-American Students' Successful Completion of Bachelor's Degrees in Physics and Astronomy.*

I first discuss the findings of the American Institute of Physics’ TEAM_UP Task Force that examined causes and remedies for the underrepresentation of African American (AA) students earning bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy. The task force found that AA students are completing bachelor’s degrees at higher rates in other quant-heavy STEM fields; their underrepresentation in physics/astronomy is due to aspects of physics/astronomy culture and climate over which departments and the wider physics /astronomy community have much agency. The task force identified four factors critical to AA student persistence to the bachelor's degree: 1) developing a strong sense of belonging to the physics/astronomy community, 2) developing a sense of themselves as emerging scientists, 3) effective teaching and academic support, 4) personal support, especially in addressing financial stressors. A fifth factor is committed leadership and the creation of long-lasting structural and policy changes that maximize AA student success. In 2020 the task force recommended that departments, colleges and universities, professional societies, and the broader physics/astronomy community commit to a series of reforms whose goal is to double the number of AA students earning physics/astronomy bachelors' degrees annually by the year 2030. 

I next discuss the TEAM_UP TOGETHER project, a collective action initiative of the AIP federation led by the American Institute of Physics, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the American Astronomical Society, the American Physical Society and the Society of Physics Students to support the scientific community in realizing the "doubling by 2030" goal. The project has two main components: 1) direct financial and professional development support to AA undergraduate students, and 2) financial support and professional development opportunities for physics and astronomy departments and programs that prioritize and foster successful outcomes for AA undergraduates in these fields.