Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate-Graduate Research Supplement (AGEP-GRS) Conference 2021

Since its inception in 2012, the MPS AGEP-GRS supplement has supported hundreds of graduate students from underrepresented groups by providing this unique funding opportunity to Principal Investigators across the five divisions represented by the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) – Astronomical Sciences, Chemistry, Materials Research, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics. The community of awardees and students are a resource to understanding the challenges facing faculty as they work to support graduate students from diverse backgrounds, and the effects on the students receiving these fellowships.

To develop a better understanding of the MPS AGEP-GRS program outcomes and to provide opportunities for professional and personal development with regards to inclusive practices in graduate education, the community convened in August 2021. The meeting was held virtually, via SpatialChat and Zoom, with plenary speakers, workshops, poster sessions, panel presentations, breakout discussions, and focus groups. Prior to the meeting, the community was surveyed and a program was developed, in collaboration with the AGEP-GRS conference steering committee and expert external evaluators.

The convening brought together MPS AGEP-GRS awardees, the students supported with MPS AGEP-GRS funding, and representatives from five disciplinary societies (American Physical Society, American Astronomical Society, American Chemical Society, American Mathematical Society and Materials Research Society). The convening was characterized by open and honest communication, respect for diversity of experiences, and an establishment of a shared language, regardless of the subject being discussed.