Summarazed description: This is the second session of a 2-part convening for Western Regional Hub members and interested, potential Western Regional Hub members. The UCSC PI's, co-PI's, staff, and faculty leadership members of the newly formed Western Regional Hub will hold their first official meetings to set foundations, build connections, hear from guest speakers, and form working groups based on expertise and interest to set a course for the future. The meeting attendees will be a mix of invitees and folks attending the 2024 SACNAS Conference who are interested in attending and contributing to this project. Lunch will be served to participants at the end of each working session. 

Full Description & Letter from PI:

Dear Participants,

We are excited to share a collaboration opportunity with you. We have recently been selected to lead the Western Regional Hub as part of the NSF Engineering PLUS Alliance. Our shared vision is to achieve systemic, transformative, and sustainable change that will increase the growth rate in the number of undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees awarded to women and members of the BIPOC community. This sub-award from Northeastern University serves to launch a western states regional hub with UC Santa Cruz in the role of coordinator. 

As part of our commitment to fostering connection, community, and collaboration, we are seeking like-minded institutions, organizations, and national labs in our region who would be committed to becoming a partner in the regional hub. We are also extending invitations to MSIs beyond the western states to strengthen our collective impact.

As our debut, the NSF Engineering PLUS Western Regional Hub will be hosting a kick-off meeting Oct 31 – Nov 1 in Phoenix, AZ. 

We invite you to join us in this opportunity to build community with fellow members and to shape the focus of our efforts over the next year. We will make every effort to create and make materials available for those who cannot attend. I will host a post-meeting Zoom session to share materials and summarize outcomes. Our immediate goal is to develop working groups to meet bi-weekly throughout the academic year (working stipends to be provided). 

If you plan to attend, please RSVP by Sept 15 here. Note that participation in the Western Regional Hub kick-off DOES NOT require registration or attendance at SACNAS. If you have additional questions about the work we are doing and the mission of the hub I would be delighted to connect over zoom to share more and answer any questions. If you are ready to join, you can do so by completing an Agreement of Collaboration (AoC) and signing up for the NSF Engineering Alliance directory here. 

We hope to see you in the fall!

Best,

Marcella Gomez

P.S. The Western Regional Hub will be sponsoring a reception as part of the SACNAS annual conference on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 31st, 6:30-8:30 pm. If you are attending SACNAS consider joining us! 

Agenda at a Glance (subject to minor changes)

Day 2: Friday, November 1st, 2024

10:30 – 10:45 AM Opening Remarks 

10:45 – 11:25 AM Working Group Structured Break-Out Activities

Working groups and their focus will be established based on pre-survey responses and discussions from Day 1. Working groups are to establish a plan (1-3 tangible goals for the year)

11:25 – 11:45 AM Working Groups Report Out 

11:45 – 12:20 PM Special Topics Discussion

As a group, we will engage in discussions around two special topics

• Engaging Industry and National Labs
• Institutionalizing Best Practices (Does this always require external funding? What are suitable funding sources?)

12:20 – 12:30 PM Closing Remarks

12:30 – 1:30 PM Lunch