Conference: 9th Annual HBCU Climate Education Conference

The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice will partner with The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University, in collaboration with thirty-two (32) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and fifteen (15) community-based organizations, to host the 9th Annual HBCU Climate Education Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 11-15, 2023. The Conference addresses the significant need for climate education for HBCU students who are largely under-represented in scholarship on climate science but over-represented as members of communities most vulnerable to climate impacts. The Conference is a one-of-a-kind national gathering that brings together HBCU students and faculty, community-based organizations, climate and environmental scientists, green business entrepreneurs, and environmental justice advocates in sessions that explore climate science and disproportionate climate impacts on vulnerable and marginalized communities. Now in its ninth year, the Conference continues to serve as a call to action for students at HBCUs to become engaged in education, research and informed decision-making in the field of climate science. The 9th Annual HBCU Climate Education Conference aims to bridge the gap between theory and the experiential realities of climate impacts by bringing together HBCU faculty and students, researchers, climate scientists, and environmental justice and coastal community residents impacted by toxic facilities and severe weather events. The major purpose of the Conference is four-fold: (1) introduce HBCU students to climate science; (2) engage students with Gulf Coast communities experiencing climate impacts; (3) engage students in the practice of the profession through the presentation of research findings; and (4) interact with and learn from professional experts in the field. The Conference strives to create synergy between academia and vulnerable communities; contribute to addressing chronic or emerging challenges related to climate impacts in coastal regions and port cities that can be exacerbated by offshore oil and gas operations and natural disasters; and foster the development of leadership and communication skills, competencies in science literacy, and capabilities of participating HBCU students. This project is co-funded by NSF's Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity Program (GOLD-EN) and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), which provides awards to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.