Leslie Hartten, SOARS program support

Leslie Hartten for her extensive volunteer effort with the SOARS program over the last ten years Dr. Leslie Hartten is the premier recipient of the Director's Award for Diversity. SOARS, Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science, is an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program designed to broaden participation in the atmospheric and related sciences. Managed locally by UCAR, SOARS is built around research, mentoring and community. As a scientific mentor each summer, Dr. Hartten has worked one-on-one with SOARS summer interns (called SOARS protégés), designing appropriate, authentic research projects, teaching relevant scientific content and processes, building tools to support protégés' investigations, and guiding her protégés in their research. SOARS Program Director Rajul Pandya writes, "She has also supported protégés in presenting their summer research successfully at an end-of-summer research colloquium at UCAR, as well as at national conferences including the American Meteorological Society and AGU. SOARS estimates that scientific mentors, like Dr. Hartten, spend an average of 10 hours a week working with their SOARS protégé in the summer, so the investment of time and energy, especially over ten consecutive years, is significant. Dr. Hartten's investment in protégés especially stands out; the steering committee for SOARS onsiders her an ideal mentor for first-year protégés because of her commitment, dedication, and willingness to invest whatever time is necessary to ensure their success."