23 January 2016

Inclusive Astronomy at the January 2016 AAS Meeting

Keivan Stassun Vanderbilt University

A special session drawing about 150 people was held at the January 2016 AAS meeting to summarize the main outcomes and draft recommendations from the inaugural Inclusive Astronomy 2015 (IA2015) meeting.

Held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, 17-19 June 2015, the IA2015 meeting brought together about 170 astronomers, social scientists, policy makers, and community leaders to discuss current barriers to success in astronomy. The key outputs of the meeting were talks and toolkits featuring best practices from across the field, and a set of recommendations (the Nashville Recommendations) for removing barriers to access; creating more inclusive climates for learning and work; improving inclusion in policy, power, and leadership; and establishing a community of inclusive practice. Talks, toolkits and other materials are available under the "Findings/Recommendations" tab on the meeting website.

The AAS session summarized the current draft of the Nashville Recommendations, which is currently open for a second round of input from the astronomical community until the deadline of 29 February 2016. The recommendations will be presented to the AAS Council at the June 2016 summer meeting, and a special online platform is planned that will allow individuals and institutions to commit to specific recommendations and to track their own progress and that of others over time.

The presentation slides from the AAS session, and the draft Nashville Recommendations available for comment are available on the meeting website at the link above. Questions may be directed to Keivan Stassun, Adam Burgasser, Jedidah Isler, Nick Murphy, Dara Norman, Carolyn Brinkworth, Jane Rigby, Kim Coble, and/or Jessica Mink.