Cultivating a Regional Geoscience Learning Ecosystem: Systemic Equity and Cultural Change in California’s Central Valley

The geosciences remain among the least racially diverse STEM fields, with limited progress over the past four decades. This article presents a case study of the San Joaquin Valley Geoscience Learning Ecosystem, a regional initiative designed to transform institutional culture and strengthen recruitment, engagement, and persistence for first-generation, low-income, and racially/ethnically diverse students in Geology and Environmental Science undergraduate majors at two Hispanic-Serving Institutions in California: Fresno State and the State Center Community College District. The project established a student cohort program, a faculty professional learning community, and community-based research experiences grounded in culturally-relevant pedagogy, place-based learning, and project-based learning. Drawing on implementation evidence and reflective analysis, we examine STEM culture change across four interrelated dimensions: structures and formal roles, languages and symbols, people, and power and decision-making. Our analysis indicates that sustained professional learning communities, shared disciplinary language, coordinated transfer relationships, and distributed leadership supported cultural change, while cross-institution collaboration helped address and complement structural barriers unique to two- and four-year settings. These insights and related recommendations for practitioners highlight that cultural change is discipline- and context-sensitive and can benefit from sustained connections across institutional boundaries within a disciplinary STEM learning ecosystem, offering adaptable strategies for STEM reform.