Alliance to increase minority graduates in science, technology fields

COLUMBUS – A $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help Ohio universities and partners work together to significantly increase the number of minority students who earn bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The NSF initiative, the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program, is named in honor of the congressman from Cleveland and currently funds 31 alliances nationwide.

The Ohio State University will lead a consortium of 15 universities and four other agencies in the state to form the Ohio Science and Engineering Alliance. The Alliance aims to double the number of minority undergraduate students earning bachelor’s degrees in science and high-tech fields and increase the number of minority students who go on to pursue graduate degrees.

The NSF grant provides $700,000 annually for five years to support projects designed to enhance the recruitment, retention and graduation of minority students as well as to encourage participants to attend graduate school. Funds will also be used to support initiatives of the Alliance, such as a statewide undergraduate research symposium and research-based internships at consortium institutions, as well as individual campus mentoring, tutoring and supplemental instruction.

Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook will serve as the principal investigator and chair of the Alliance’s Governing Board. Holbrook said the collaboration is an example of the statewide commitment to recruit and retain minority students who are excelling academically.

“The Alliance is a unique effort to enhance minority student participation in areas that are critical to the state’s future,” she said. “This is an important initiative for Ohio, and I am delighted that we are helping to lead the effort.”

The Alliance will address key issues, beginning with the freshman experience and following through with research opportunities for juniors and seniors. It also will focus on professional development, including networking opportunities for students and workshops for faculty and staff who work with campus programs involved in the Alliance.

Jean Girves, former associate director of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium of 12 major teaching and research universities in the Midwest, will serve as the project director. She said the Alliance institutions will share effective strategies and will develop new strategies for recruiting and retaining minority students in science and high-tech fields.

“All of the institutions have programs or activities in place that support the goals of this Alliance,” Girves said. “We want to put together an infrastructure that will complement and enhance these activities as well as foster cooperation across the state. Once an effective infrastructure is in place, we can broaden the collaboration to include more fields and students.”

The Alliance also will enhance minority students’ awareness of the advantages of pursuing graduate school, said Susan Huntington, dean of Ohio State’s Graduate School and co-principal investigator. It will allow students to become familiar with graduate programs at universities around the state to find the right or best fit, she said.

“One size does not always fit all in terms of institutions,” Huntington said. “We want to ensure that students with an interest in these fields of study are in the program most suited to them.”

Huntington said the universities involved in the Alliance will work together to recruit and support students. In addition to Ohio State, the institutions involved are: the University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, Case Western Reserve University, Central State University, Cleveland State University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Dayton, Kent State University, Miami University, Ohio University, the University of Toledo, Wilberforce University, Wright State University and Youngstown State University.

In addition, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Ohio Board of Regents, COSI and the Ohio College Access Network are members of the new alliance.

Girves said this is a unique partnership among Ohio universities and agencies.

“To my knowledge, these Ohio institutions have not worked together in this way before,” Girves said. “This is a true collaboration designed to foster the success of minority students across Ohio.”