Background/Question/Methods The purpose of the College Speaking Tour (CST) to selected Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) is to build the foundations for the participation of underrepresented minority institutions and students in the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science and education. NEON’s vision is for a broad spectrum of society to be engaged with NEON science with the ability to use data, information and forecasts to address the critical environmental grand challenges of our time. The Ecological Society of America (ESA), in partnership with the Science and Engineering Alliance (SEA) and the NEON, Inc., have been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to organize a series of CSTs, to be facilitated by SEA, to 17 HBCUs and MSIs that are allied with the SEA Phosphorous Observatory Network (SEAPON) initiative. The CSTs introduce the NEON project to the institutions and identify the NEON-related science capacity at these institutions through an online survey. The survey, the SEA NEON Science Capabilities Checklist, is completed by faculty, graduate and post-doctoral students prior to the CST. Results will facilitate collaboration between NEON researchers, HBCUs and MSIs to ensure their broader participation in NEON. Outcomes from information collected during these CSTs will allow SEA, ESA, and NEON to identify potential partners for NEON-related research and educational projects; and serves as a mechanism that enables SEA to inform the HBCUs and MSIs of relevant research, education and funding opportunities affiliated with the NEON project. 

Results/Conclusions Results from the CSTs survey indicate that faculty and students have current research (in descending order) in the following NEON grand challenge areas: biodiversity, land use, biogeochemistry, ecohydrology, bioclimate, and disease. The institutions also suggest that a funding mechanism that targets the underrepresented community is essential to broadening participation in the NEON project.