AGU LANDInG welcomes first cohort of Academy Fellows

By: Randy W. Fiser, Billy Williams on 5 October 2021 at 9:06 am

We are excited to announce the selection of the first cohort of Academy Fellows for AGU LANDInG Academy, a two-year professional development program for current and aspiring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leaders in the Earth and space sciences.

Earth and space science remains one of the least diverse fields in STEM. Until diversity is a fundamental feature of scientific excellence, the lack of an equitable, inclusive geoscience community will continue to hamper innovation and discovery. To correct the culture, systematic changes need to come from the community and the institutions that employ Earth and space scientists.

Led by AGU and funded by a National Science Foundation grant, AGU LANDInG (Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences) seeks to bring about this change by cultivating a network of scientists who are equipped to improve DEI at their home institutions and across STEM. The AGU LANDInG Academy will provide Academy Fellows with the formal training and hands-on support they need to implement their own DEI initiative.

Out of more than 80 applicants, 12 fellows were selected for the first cohort of the AGU LANDInG Academy. The selection process focused on mid-career professionals in positions to effect change at U.S.-based academic, academic-adjacent and research institutions. Future cohorts will be open to geoscientists at different career stages, from other sectors and from around the world; applications will re-open in May 2022.

Aside from the academy, AGU LANDInG is also preparing to launch its Community of Practice (CoP) — an open access, virtual platform for DEI-focused resources, professional development and discussion — in December 2022.

Together, the AGU LANDInG Academy and Community of Practice will offer different paths for members of the Earth and space science community to develop as DEI leaders and bring about change in their own institutions, across the Earth and space sciences and in STEM.

AGU LANDInG will host a plenary session to discuss the programs at AGU Fall Meeting 2021AGU Fall Meeting 2021, which will run in-person at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, and online everywhere from 13-17 December 2021. #AGU21 will feature plenaries and speakers, as well as workshops, that focus on efforts to create a more inclusive scientific culture for everyone. We encourage you to register (and join/renew your AGU membership) by 3 November for the #AGU21 early bird rate.

On behalf of the AGU leadership team and greater Earth and space sciences community, we welcome the first AGU LANDInG Academy cohort. We are excited to see how these DEI leaders encourage change at their institutions and in the greater Earth and space sciences community. Show your support on social media by sharing this graphic with the hashtag #AGULANDInG.