3 min read
NASA Helps Connect Astronomers and Community Colleges Across the Nation
The NASA Community College Network (NCCN) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) have teamed up to provide an exciting and impactful program that brings top astronomy researchers into the classrooms of community colleges around the United States.
The Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectureship Program, named for astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885-1972), has a history dating back to the 1950s, when it provided support for a scientist to give a series of astronomy-themed lectures at a college or university, coupled with a public talk to the local community. In 2024, AAS partnered with NCCN to broaden the impact of the Shapley lectureship program to community colleges, making use of NCCN’s existing network of 260 college instructors across 44 states and 120 participating Subject Matter Experts (SME) to “matchmake” community colleges with astronomers.
NCCN has supported the teaching of astronomy at community college since 2020. Community colleges serve a vital role in STEM education, with one-third of their students being first-generation college attendees and 64% being part-time students working jobs and raising families. Factor in that up to 40% of students taking introductory astronomy courses nationally each year do so at a community college, and the motivation behind NCCN and the initiatives of the AAS become clear.
In 2024, the pilot collaboration between NCCN and the AAS matched two community colleges — Chattanooga State Community College in Tennessee and Modesto Junior College in California — with SMEs from University of Virginia and Stanford University. In 2025, nine NCCN subject matter experts are engaging with 14 community colleges in six states. They are:
Joe Masiero (Caltech) at Grossmont Community College CA
Vivian U (Caltech) at Scottsdale & Chandler Gilbert Community Colleges AZ
Dave Leisawitz (NASA) & Michael Foley (Harvard) at Elgin Community College IL
Michael Rutkowski (MN State) at Dallas Area Colleges (five colleges) TX
Joe Masiero (Caltech) at Mt. San Jacinto College, Menifee Campus CA
Quyen Hart (STScI) at Casper College WY
Nathan McGregor (UCSC) at Yakima Valley College WA
Patrick Miller (Hardin-Simmons) at Evergreen Valley College CA
Kim Arcand (Harvard-Smithsonian) at Anne Arundel Community College MD
Natasha Batalha (NASA) at Modesto Junior College CA
Each visit of an AAS Shapley Lecturer is unique. The center of each event is the public Shapley Lecture, which is broadly advertised to the local community. Beyond the Shapley Lecture itself, host institutions organize a variety of local engagement activities – ranging from star parties and classroom visits to meeting with college deans and faculty – to make the most of their time with the Shapley Lecturer.
Astronomy instructor James Espinosa from Weatherford College said, “[The visiting Shapley Lecturer’s] visit made a permanent change in how my classes will be taught, in the sense that ‘honors’ projects will be available for ambitious students. I intend to keep in touch with him for several years to come, which is a big impact for our present and future students.”
Dr. Tom Rice, AAS Education Program Manager and AAS lead on the partnership with NCCN, stated, “The AAS’s Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectureship Program represents one of the most impactful ways that astronomers can share our scientific understanding with the widest possible audience, and I am very proud that we have partnered with the SETI Institute and NASA to bring astronomers to their network of community colleges.”
NCCN is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0009 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/.
