Federal funding terminated for UH program that supports women in STEM

A program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa that supported dozens of career development activities for women in geosciences and community outreach was terminated by the loss of federal funding.

In April, Barbara Bruno, project lead and faculty member at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), was given a termination notice with instructions to immediately close operations on the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded program. About two-thirds of the nearly $200,000 budget was forfeited when the grant was terminated.

“SOEST is Hawaiʻi’s largest producer of geoscience graduates—alumni who go on to monitor volcanic hazards, predict extreme weather, conduct assessments of environmental impacts, ensure sustainable use of Hawaiʻi’s freshwater resources, and more,” said Bruno. “I think the biggest impact of this termination is the loss of professional development opportunities for women. STEM is hemorrhaging women—we need programs to keep them.”

The NSF award supported a mini-grant program, Catalyst Awards for Science Advancement (CASA), that funded geoscience workforce development in two ways: outreach and community engagement to attract the next generation of STEM professionals; and professional development for current SOEST students and early career scientists.

Loss of career development and outreach opportunities

Through the mini-grants program, female students, post-doctoral researchers, staff and faculty submitted applications to secure funding to attend professional meetings, technical or career development workshops; or engage in field work or research collaborations. For example, this project supported activities of a co-writing group for women in SOEST and multiple student-oriented groups focused on diversity, equity and inclusion within UH.

The federal funding cut also resulted in terminating two months of Bruno’s salary and several mini-grants that were in process. Funding was pulled from a Palauan graduate student who is pursuing her doctoral degree in the Marine Biology Graduate Program and studying the unique and diverse coral communities of Ngermid Bay in the Republic of Palau.

The successfully completed outreach and community engagement efforts supported by this program include training for middle school teachers in ocean engineering; and workshops, hands-on activities, and presentations to community members and middle and high school students that focused on deep-sea ecology and volcanoes.

“We were also actively soliciting applications for the next round of CASA funding when we received the termination notice,” said Bruno. “Ending this grant eliminates the support for future professional development opportunities and K–12 and community engagement.”

On May 28, Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez and 15 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit to stop attempts to cut critical NSF programs and funding that help maintain the US’ position as a global leader in STEM. Bruno submitted a declaration in support of this federal lawsuit, attesting to the adverse impacts of the sudden termination of her NSF grant. Bruno is actively pursuing alternative funding sources to support these initiatives.