Dr. Courtney
Hatch among 2023-25 AGU LANDInG Fellows
CONWAY,
Ark. (November 6, 2023) — Hendrix College chemistry professor Dr. Courtney
Hatch ’00 was recently selected to join the 2023-2025 cohort of Fellows for the
American Geophysical Union Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and
Inclusion in the Geosciences (AGU LANDInG), a two-year professional development
program for current and aspiring DEI leaders in the Earth and space sciences.
The
program, funded by the National Science Foundation, aims to lead change in the
Earth and space sciences by creating a network of leaders empowered with skills
and resources to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in their own
institutions and across STEM.
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Hatch,
who currently holds the Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Professorship and serves
as area chair for the natural sciences at Hendrix, is one of 17 Fellows
accepted through a process that focused on mid-career professionals in
positions to effect change at U.S.-based academic, academic-adjacent and
research institutions. The 2023-2025 Academy Fellows participated in an
orientation summit in Washington, D.C. at AGU Headquarters in mid-September.
Hatch
applied to the AGU LANDInG Academy to support the work of her Odyssey
Professorship collaboration with Dr. Brett Hill, titled “Leadership in
Environmental Analysis for the People (LEAP).” Their work on this project will provide
underrepresented students at Hendrix with fundamental skills in community
leadership and data analysis/visualization using open access data to explore local
social and environmental justice issues while expanding access to measurements and
awareness of environmental inequities within Arkansas.
“By
participating in the LANDInG Academy, I hope to learn effective instructional methodologies
that value equity, inclusion, and diversity and apply them to a one-week
Odyssey LEAP summer camp during the summer of 2024,” Hatch said.
In
addition to the development of the LEAP summer program, Hatch envisions that
the LANDInG Academy will support her work with Hendrix S-STEM scholars, development
of inclusive teaching and mentorship practices in her classes, and her role in
faculty leadership and academic policy over the coming years.
“I
am honored and grateful to be a part of the second cohort of the AGU LANDInG
Academy,” she said, “and I look forward to having an inclusive and diversely
collaborative community of scholars working to expand participation and support
the professional growth of underrepresented students and faculty in the
sciences.”
About Courtney Hatch
Hatch,
a 2000 Hendrix College alumna, received her Ph.D. in Analytical/Atmospheric
chemistry at the University of Colorado – Boulder and completed a
Cardiovascular Center Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Iowa. She
then returned to join the faculty at Hendrix College, where she has established
a nationally recognized research program studying air quality and climate
effects of atmospheric aerosols, including engagement of 70% female and
underrepresented students in STEM over the past five years. Her work has
resulted in numerous invited presentations and peer-reviewed articles and has
been supported by over $900,000 in funding.
Her
external funding has also supported the development of a popular career
discernment program titled EPROACH: Experiences in Professional Research
Organizations and Atmospheric Chemistry at Hendrix that connects
underrepresented students with scientists at all stages in their government,
academic, and industrial careers. As a result, 86% of participants have gone on
to graduate programs in the sciences or are currently applying to graduate
programs.
In
an effort to achieve inclusive excellence, Hatch has participated in numerous
workshops on inclusive teaching and assessment practices, including the
NSF-funded SAGE 2YC project’s workshop at the 2019 fall American Geophysical
Union conference titled “Inclusive and effective college science classrooms:
Engaging students, designing lessons, and integrating diversity into the
curriculum” and the NSF-funded Unlearning Racism in the Geosciences (URGE)
program. Currently, she serves as the natural sciences area chair at Hendrix
and holds the Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Professorship, a three-year endowed
professorship awarded to her to further her plan to prepare underrepresented
undergraduate STEM students for pursuing careers in the geosciences.
About Hendrix College
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and
celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic
quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus
life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III
sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu.
“… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and
a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the
Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity,
service, and joy.” —Hendrix
College Statement of Purpose