The NASA Community College Network (NCCN) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) have teamed up to provide an exciting and punchy program that brings the best astronomy researchers in classrooms in community colleges in the United States.
The Harlow Shapley’s reading program, named after the astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885-1972), has a story dating from the 1950s, when it provided support to a scientist to give a series of conferences on the theme of astronomy in a college or a university, coupled with a public series to the local community. In 2024, the AAS teamed up with NCCN to expand the impact of the Shapley conference program in community colleges, using the existing network of 260 NCCN university instructors in 44 states and 120 Participants (SMEs) at the Community Colleges “Matchmake” with astronomers.
The NCCN has supported astronomy teaching at community college since 2020. Community colleges play an essential role in the education of STEMs, a third of their students being participants in first generation colleges and 64% of part -time students occupying jobs and raising families. The fact that up to 40% of students following introductory astronomy courses at the national level do so every year in a community college, and the motivation behind the NCCN and the initiatives of the AAS become clear.
In 2024, the pilot collaboration between NCCN and the AAS equaled two community colleges – Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee and Modesto Junior College in California – with SMEs from the University of Virginie and the University of Stanford. In 2025, nine experts in NCCN engaged with 14 community colleges in six states. They are:
Joe Masiero (Caltech) at the Grossmont Community College CA
Vivian U (Caltech) at Scottsdale & Chandler Gilbert Community Colleges Az
Dave Leisawitz (NASA) and Michael Foley (Harvard) at Elgin Community College Il
Michael Rutkowski (MN State) in the colleges of the Dallas region (five colleges) TX
Joe Masiero (Caltech) at Mont San Jacinto College, Menify Campus
Quy Hart (STSCI) at Casper College Wy
Nathan McGregor (UCSC) at Yahima Valley College of
Patrick Miller (Hardin-Simmons) at Evergreen Valley College
Kim Arcand (Harvard-Smithsonian) in Anne Arundel Community College MD
Natasha Batalha (NASA) and Modesto Junior College CA
Each visit to a speaker AAS Shapley is unique. The center of each event is the Shapley public conference, which is widely announced to the local community. Beyond the Shapley conference itself, host institutions organize a variety of local engagement activities – ranging from star games and class visits to meet deans and college teachers – to make the most of their time with the Shapley speaker.
Weatherford College James Espinosa astronomy instructor said: “[The visiting Shapley Lecturer’s] The visit has made a permanent change in the way my lessons will be taught, in the sense that “honors” projects will be available for ambitious students. I intend to stay in touch with him for several years to come, which is a great impact for our current and future students. »»
Dr. Tom Rice, director of the AAS education program and AAS leader on the partnership with NCCN, said: “The Harlow Shapley conference program of AAS represents one of the most impactful ways that astronomers can share our scientific understanding with the widest possible public, and I am very proud that we have associated the Seti Institute and NASA community colleges. ”.
The NCCN is supported by NASA under the cooperation agreement, the number 80NSSC21M0009 and is part of the NASA scientific activation portfolio. Find out more about the way scientific activation links NASA scientific experts, real content and experiences with community leaders to make science to activate minds and promote a more in-depth understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-ctivation/.
