As celebrations for Women’s History Month continue, a Southern Miss professor recently started the State of Mississippi’s first chapter of an international organization geared towards women. Called the Association for Women Geoscientists, the organization held its first official meeting on the USM campus on Feb. 29 in the Chain Technology Center.
“Women have been traditionally excluded from the geosciences, and are therefore underrepresented,” said Dr. Alyson Brink, Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Southern Mississippi, one of the founders of the new chapter and the newly elected AWG President. “Dr. Baghai-Riding, Professor of Environmental Science at Delta State, and I decided that one way to combat this inequity was to establish a chapter of AWG here in Mississippi.”
The purpose of the meeting was to enhance the quality and level of participation of women in the geosciences.
“I started this organization with a couple of other professors from around the state,” Brink added. “We decided that the state of Mississippi needed an Association for Women Geoscientists.”
There are other members from across Mississippi, including professors, undergraduate and graduate students from Mississippi State, undergraduate students from Delta State and Jackson State, professors from the University of Mississippi, and women working in the professional sector of geology at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, as well as environmental geology companies.
In the meeting, they went through an itinerary of what they should go over in the first meeting. And they introduced the acting board and discussed logos, email addresses, field trip ideas, and future meetings. They also discussed officer nominations for the organization, including president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.
“One of the things that we’re going to talk about is perhaps arranging field trips,” Brink said. “We might go to national parks or go to a local to find fossils.”
Some of the benefits and opportunities associated with a state chapter include mentoring and career advice from experienced female geoscientists, student scholarships, and a Distinguished Lecturers Program.
“We are very excited that so many people showed up from around the state, as well as students here from USM,” Brink continued. “And we are excited about the turnout and excited about the prospects.”
Membership is open to anyone who supports women in geosciences. If you are interested, please go to awg.org and sign up, or contact Dr. Alyson Brink at [email protected] for more information.
Be on the lookout for this organization on campus and keep an eye out for any updates or developments from them as you would likely see them in the CTC building.