“Engaging Faculty and Graduate Students in Recruitment and Retention”

1. Strategies To Promote Diversity : The Institutionalization of Culture Change in STEM Higher Education “Engaging Faculty and Graduate Students in Recruitment and Retention” Institute for Broadening Participation Workshop Portland and Camp Kieve, Nobleboro, ME March 11-March 14, 2007 Bernard L. Batson, Program Manager NSF IGERT, NSF Bridge to the Doctorate, Sloan PhD Programs University of South Florida

2. Overview • Our Program Initiatives IGERT/SKINS Bridge to the Doctorate Alfred P. Sloan Minority PhD Program • Our Best Practices to Involve Faculty & Students in Recruitment and Retention • Summary & Q/A

3. Our Program Initiatives Integrating Graduate Research and Education: Ongoing administrative supported diversity Initiatives (1) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) - SKINS (2) FGLSAMP- Bridge to the Doctorate (3) Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Minority PhD Program

4. IGERT- Sensory Knowledge based Information Sciences (SKINS) • Investigate the human skin as a smart biological interface by coupling advances in Biomedicine, Microsystems, Nanotechnology, and Informational Processing. • USF IGERT Sensory Knowledge -based Interface (SKINS) initiated in Fall 2003. • Appointed 34 IGERT PhD trainees (13 URMs, 14 women, 2 disabled) in the Colleges of Engineering, Arts & Sciences, Medicine., University of Cincinnati, and the University of Central of Florida.

5. Business Transition Recruitment Outreach Retention Medicine Tissue Engineering Immuno Sensors Tissue modeling and coupling data to model Invitro MEMS testing of Skin Biophysics/biophysical processing Characterization of cellular films/ validating Eng. Data with medicine Microfluidic Coupling/Modeling SKIN Image and Information Processing ASIC,Feedback Regulation of Sensor Interface Microfluidics Chemical sensors Modeling of MEMS Devices MEMS Materials Bioimpedance Monitoring Characterization Communication MEMS Fabrication/ Sensors Nanostructures Engineering

6. Florida Georgia Louis Strokes Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate Project (FGLSAMP- BD) AIMS AND GOALS • Extension of the LSAMP undergraduate program to facilitate progression of LSAMP scholars to Ph.D. • $30K per stipend up to 2 years, full tuition/fees, student health insurance. • We will recruit 56 (36 NSF, 20 USF) new minority graduate students to USF by Summer 2007.

7. Alfred P. Sloan Minority PhD Program • One time allocation of enhanced fellowship funds ($26K to $38K) to be leveraged with other support (TA, RA, etc.). • USF is the only institution able to award Sloan fellowships in all Engineering Ph.D. programs, and is one of only three with a program in Marine Sciences. • Since January 2005, over 20 Sloan fellows have been appointed collectively within separate Sloan programs at the Colleges of Engineering and Marine Science. Alfred P. Sloan Fellow Joniqua Howard Ph.D. student, Environmental Engineering Hampton University, 2004

8. Involving Faculty into Recruitment • Provide faculty/depts. with a “buy-in” by selling the concept that Diversity and Research are inexorably “linked” . • Make annual presentations to departments and meet with junior faculty. • Co-sponsor research seminars with participating departments. • Work with faculty in formulating the diversity/educational components of their proposals (CAREER), including the identification of potential partners at minority-serving institutions and community college.

9. Potential Partners at Minority Serving Institutions • HBCU-UP (NSF) • LSAMP (NSF) • MARCU-U STAR (NIGMS/NIH) • MCNAIR (Department of Education)

10. 2. Graduate Student Involvement Campus Visitations Undergraduate Research Conferences

11. 3. Involving Faculty into Retention • Annual Faculty Orientation meetings • Personal Development Plan for Each Trainee/Fellow • Semester and Annual Progress Reports • Annual symposium where attendance of faculty mentor and mentee is required. Recognize faculty advisors and give two annual awards.

12. 4. Involving Graduate Students into Retention • Make every effort to recruit/appoint trainees with an interest in outreach/retention. • Assign Graduate Student Mentors for 1st Year Trainees/Fellows. • Graduate Students serve as facilitators of personal development workshops • IGERT/BD trainees are required to develop a teaching/mentoring plan prior to their 2nd year of NSF funding. • “21st Century Leadership Certificate Program”

13. Outcomes • Within the past 2 years, 5 of our faculty have received CAREER • Since Fall 2003, 95 fellowships appointed, 72 awarded to diverse students. Contributed to the significant increase in the diversity of USF graduate enrollment. During AY 2005-2006, we sponsored 24 graduate visitations for minority students, 20 applications, 16 enrolled by Fall 2006 ( a yield rate of 67%). • Established collaborative relationships with at 8-10 minority-serving institutions that are feeder schools for graduate programs at USF. • Facilitated national awards to minority/women graduate students at USF: 10 McKnight 1 NASA (Harriett Jenkins) 1 GEM PhD 7 NSF (GRF, GRS, EAPSI) 1 Ford Foundation 1 UNCF/MERCK Dissertation 2 Dept. of Homeland Security 2 NIH

14. What Works? • Targeted Minority Recruitment (Focus on diverse programs, conferences, and schools that match your department’s research interests) • Establish and Maintain Key Partnerships with Minority-Serving Institutions • Provide Faculty & Departments with A “Buy- in” for their involvement in Recruitment/Retention • Involve Graduate Students in the Recruitment and Retention No magic bullets for success!!!!

15. IGERT, BD, SLOAN Programs – Summary • FG-LSAMP Bridge to Doctorate II,III,IV • Focused on training students at the intersection of marine science, physical sciences and engineering to explore cutting-edge design and development of marine, environmental, biological, chemical & biomedical sensor technologies. • Increase the diversity of the students graduating in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. • 27 Female, 27 Male (54 Minorityfellows),(* EE - 7,Chem - 3,ME - 3,Civil- 3, CSE - 1,IE - 2,BME - 5,* Marine Science - 27). Retention into PhD program after MS completion • Team Building and InterdisciplinaryTraining through 2 specially designed courses, Emphasis on Professional Development and Industry Relevant Soft-skills • SLOAN • Colleges of Engineering and Marine Science becoming a certified site for fellows of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Minority PhD program to pursue their PhD • USF - the only University to offer Sloan fellowships in all Engineering PhD granting programs • 4 Female, 4 Male (8 Minority) (EE - 3, ME - 1,ChE - 2, Civil - 1, CSE - 1) only supported by Sloan; 10 fellowship students receive Sloan • Mentors span across all thrust areas- Fellows work with them • NSF IGERT • Investigate the dynamic, information rich, molecular structure of the ultimate smart interface – human skin - by coupling advances in biology, microsys., nanotechnology and information technology to collect data from it • 50 Mentors from 3 continents • 14 Female, 16 Male (9 Minority Fellows) Across Various Disciplines (EE - 6,BME - 4,CE - 4,CSE - 2,ME - 1, Civil - 1,Phy - 5,Chem - 3,Patho - 1, Pharmocology - 1,UCF - 1 and UC- 1) • Students trained across domains and co-advised nationally & internationally • 4 New Interdisciplinary Courses, Cross-disciplinary research & professional development seminars *Recruitment in Progress

18. Thank you