Sparks for Change is an NSF GEO Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLD) funded program aimed at increasing diversity and broadening participation within the geosciences. Sparks for Change focuses on improving the retention of underrepresented faculty and improving departmental culture towards broadening participation using small groups comprised of junior underrepresented minority faculty, more senior partners in the same departments, and experienced broadening participation experts, to drive departmental-level change. 

Sparks for Change is centered on a three-day workshop, to be held in September 2017 in Boulder CO, that will build a network of scholars focused on broadening participation in the geosciences, provide faculty with the leadership skills necessary to lead a departmental culture change and support for them in developing individualized plans for enacting change. Ongoing support, including evaluation of efforts, development of resources and alliance building will continue to empower the groups to enact change upon return to their institution. 

Program Goals: 

1) Support the career progression and retention of early career minority faculty 

2) Develop leadership at individual, faculty and departmental levels to overcome institutional inertia towards broadening participation 

3) Empower cultural change towards inclusivity in participating departments 

4) Create a mechanism for the transfer of information between different institutions on successful approaches for increasing minority participation 

5) Build a community of “champions for diversity” committed to retaining diverse students and faculty and broadening participation in the geosciences 

We particularly want to engage geoscience departments who have hired early career minority faculty and want to support and retain them; broadening participation experts who want to contribute to overcoming institutional inertia toward broadening participation efforts and both early and late career scientists who want inclusive departments where everyone is empowered to fully contribute to science. 

We are currently seeking to identify early career minority faculty in the geosciences, senior faculty members in their departments and broadening participation experts to participate in the program. 

If you are interested in learning more, or sparking change in your department, please see our website: http://www.scied.ucar.edu/soars/sparks 

Applications close on April 28, 2017