The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Dr. Chrystal George Mwangi, associate professor of higher education at George Mason University, and colleagues a combined $2.3 million to advance collaborations for equity in marine and climate science. The project, titled Advancing Collaborations for Equity in Marine and Climate Sciences (ACE-MCS), is a collaborative partnership between multiple institutions, which includes higher education researchers and practitioners Dr. Jennifer Johnson (Temple University), Dr. Vijay Kanagala (Salem State University), Onjalé Scott Price (Woods Hole Partnership Education Program), and Dr. Christina Yao (University of South Carolina).
As principal investigator, Dr. George Mwangi will lead this three-year project to examine what processes are employed for developing equity-driven and anti-racist educational collaborations, infrastructures, and pathways in marine and climate science. This research project will investigate the Woods Hole Collaborative Network (WHCN), a multi-organizational collaboration between six predominantly white institutions located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The research team will emphasize Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) storytelling and standpoint centering through qualitative inquiry alongside organizational and historical analysis to develop a replicable and scalable model for equity-centered support in STEM collaborations.
This collaborative project is funded through the Racial Equity in STEM Education activities (EDU Racial Equity). The program supports research and practice projects that investigate how considerations of racial equity factor into the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Awarded projects seek to center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of the individuals, communities, and institutions most impacted by systemic inequities within the STEM enterprise. This program aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations. Funds for EDU Racial Equity are pooled from programs across EDU in recognition of the alignment of its projects with the collective research and development thrusts of the four divisions of the directorate.
September 18, 2023