Strengthening Departments with the Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) Guide

Physicists study subjects such as quantum mechanics and relativity that capture the popular imagination, yet physics departments often struggle to recruit and retain enough students to satisfy cost-conscious administrations. Faculty have difficulty persuading skeptical students and parents that physics degrees lead to viable careers, and physics programs are not always welcoming to students with diverse backgrounds and aspirations. The Effective Practices for Physics Programs (EP3) Initiative of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers has tapped the expertise and experience of over 250 members of the physics community to create a Guide to help physics programs face these (and many other) challenges and enact change. In this workshop we'll review some of the lessons physics departments can take from the EP3 Guide to build vibrant, growing, and diverse undergraduate physics programs.