Initial Publication Date: January 7, 2014

American Geophysical Union

62,000 members
Education staff lead: Pranoti Asher, pasher@agu.org
http://www.agu.org

The purpose of the American Geophysical Union is to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity.To achieve this mission, AGU identified the following core values and behaviors.

Core Principles

As an organization, AGU holds a set of guiding core values:

  • The scientific method
  • The generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge
  • Open exchange of ideas and information
  • Diversity of backgrounds, scientific ideas and approaches
  • Benefit of science for a sustainable future
  • International and interdisciplinary cooperation
  • Equality and inclusiveness
  • An active role in educating and nurturing the next generation of scientists
  • An engaged membership
  • Unselfish cooperation in research
  • Excellence and integrity in everything we do

When we are at our best as an organization, we embody these values in our behavior as follows:

  • We advance Earth and space science by catalyzing and supporting the efforts of individual scientists within and outside the membership.
  • As a learned society, we serve the public good by fostering quality in the Earth and space science and by publishing the results of research.
  • We welcome all in academic, government, industry and other venues who share our interests in understanding the Earth, planets and their space environment, or who seek to apply this knowledge to solving problems facing society.
  • Our scientific mission transcends national boundaries.
  • Individual scientists worldwide are equals in all AGU activities.
  • Cooperative activities with partner societies of all sizes worldwide enhance the resources of all, increase the visibility of Earth and space science, and serve individual scientists, students, and the public.
  • We are our members.
  • Dedicated volunteers represent an essential ingredient of every program.
  • AGU staff work flexibly and responsively in partnership with volunteers to achieve our goals and objectives.

Talent Pool

The American Geophysical Union is a diverse and inclusive organization that uses its position to build the global talent pool in Earth and space science.
  1. Increase our understanding of the real barriers to gender and ethnic diversity and involvement within AGU and within Earth and space science.
  2. Enhance engagement and involvement in AGU of students and early career scientists.
  3. Identify career alternatives within Earth and space science and subsequent career paths available.
  4. Enhance mutual support and networking opportunities for students and early career scientists.
  5. Increase participation of underrepresented populations.

We run a variety of events for students and faculty at our annual Fall meeting. These include an undergraduate poster session and numerous faculty development workshops (e.g. http://education.agu.org/education-events/).

We also have a Two-Year College initiative entitled Unique Research Experiences for two-year College faculty and Students (URECAS).

Premier Contribution to Faculty Development

Faculty Development Workshops at the AGU Fall Meeting
http://education.agu.org/education-activities-at-agu-meetings/

Through our work with a variety of partners, we are offer a very full schedule of education-and outreach-related workshops at our Fall Meeting. 2013 topics included Getting Started in Undergraduate Research, Navigating the NSF System, Getting on the Tenure Track and Succeeding, Social Media Strategies for Engagement and Community Building, Instructional Approaches for Access, Accommodation, and Inclusion for Students with Disabilities in the Geoscience, and Preparing for Global Change. The workshops are open to everyone, and are especially useful for graduate students and early career faculty. We collect evaluation data on all of our workshops. In 2012, all workshops scored an average of 4.0 or greater on a 5 point scale for Presentation Quality, Activity Quality, Information Usefulness, Activity Usefulness, Interest Before, and Interest After.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2011EO410012

Additional Undergraduate Education Activities of AGU