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History Of The UNO
Geoscience Minority Program
 The
University of New Orleans is located in a city rich in diversity and
industries that employ geoscientists. It is in the ideal place to
develop a strong diversity program in geology and geophysics. In
1974, Dr.
Louis Fernandez
received a grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) to formally develop a minority recruiting program for
the geosciences. The focus of the initial program was a field trip
for local minority high school students. That trip has gone on
continuously every year since then and this year we will embark on
the 34th such trip. The field trip has been the best tool for
recruiting outstanding minority students to the Department Earth and
Environmental Sciences. The initial NSF funding disappeared long
ago and is replaced by support from individual donors, private industry
sponsors and
creative use of departmental funds. The Minority program was
expanded to include scholarship funding for minority students in the
earth sciences at the University of New Orleans. It also included
mentoring, and other support for minority students in the
Department. As a result of this effort UNO has graduated more
minority, particularly Afro-American, Earth scientists than any other
institution in the US from most of the past 34 years. The program, which
started in what was then called the Department of Geology, has now
become a College of Sciences' program and the successful components of
the program are being expanded to other scientific disciplines.
One such success is the way the Department of
Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University New Orleans continues
to
develop relationships with local teachers in elementary, middle, and
high schools. This allows access to highly motivated,
scientifically curious students from a diverse range of backgrounds. The
field trip is not the only reason for the Department success in
recruiting minorities but it was the beginning of that success.
Likewise, with the participating high school students, the field trip is
not a one time summer activity, but the beginning of what becomes for many, a lifelong
study of the scientific mysteries and complexities of the earth.
Other Historical Notes
People Who have been Involved with the
UNO Minority Program in the Past
Participation with Other Summer Programs
San Francisco Rocks
Read a
Biography of program
founder Dr. Luis Fernandez ( outside link)
Read about
UNO graduate
and Antarctic researcher, Dr. Philip J. Bart, and how he was inspired
by Dr. Fernandez. (outside link)
Read about
Aisha R. Ragas, successful geologist who started her interest in Geology
by attending the minority geoscience summer trip which was then called "
a Summer in the Rockies" (outside link).
.
| Part of this page
excerpted from: "Recruiting Minority Geoscientists: a
30-year Success Story", Laura Serpa, Terry Pavlis, Frank
Hall in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2003.
Dr. Luiz Fernadez's photo
from the
City of San Bernardino, CA's
Water Commissioner Profile pages.
Photos
on these pages by G. L. Jones unless otherwise noted . These Images
are copyrighted, unauthorized use is prohibited. |
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