UVI Students and Faculty Join U.S. Territories at National STEM Diversity Conference

Students and Mentors from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico at SACNAS, the Largest Multidisciplinary and Multicultural STEM Diversity Event in the Country.

Students, faculty, and staff from the University of the Virgin Islands recently participated in the National Diversity in STEM (NDiSTEM) Conference, held October 31 through November 2 in Phoenix, Arizona. The event, hosted by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), is recognized as the largest multicultural and multidisciplinary STEM diversity conference in the U.S., focusing on advancing underrepresented groups within scientific fields.

According to a release from UVI, the local delegation included a mix of 20 attendees, comprising seven undergraduate students, four graduate students, four faculty and staff members—including a representative from the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Agency (CZM) and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR)—and five workforce fellows from UVI. For many of these participants, this was their first opportunity to attend a large-scale STEM conference dedicated to diversity.