AGEP SUNY Phase II: Building a Community of Science Scholars

SUNY AGEP Phase II: Building a Community of Science Scholars Project Summary SUNY AGEP is a coalition of the four major doctoral granting institutions within the State University of New York (SUNY) system; Stony Brook University (lead), University at Albany, Binghamton University, and the University at Buffalo; SUNY Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (SUNY LSAMP) and Brookhaven National Laboratory. This coalition works in collaboration with federal, state, and local government agencies, funded programs, professional and community based organizations, and a series of feeder schools. SUNY AGEP plans to build a community of science scholars that will build on the highly successful and well-documented approaches for recruitment and retention. The goals of SUNY AGEP in Phase II are to substantially increase the number of underrepresented minority students getting doctoral degrees and entering the professoriate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and to make the institutional change necessary to develop a truly inclusive professoriate. Building on the lessons learned and changes made in Phase I, SUNY AGEP plans to engage faculty and STEM departments in a series of activities that will increase recruitment, improve retention, address barriers in the academic and social climate of graduate education, increase interest in and entrance to the professoriate, and increase UREP STEM scholarship and program operation through the growth of the National Center for Inclusive Education housed at Stony Brook. In order to produce change in the order of magnitude necessary to meet degree production, and enrollment targets, SUNY AGEP continues to design and implement a comprehensive network of services that impact students, faculty, departments and institutions. Services include: sharing information related to best practices, financial support for research and professional development; a series of community building activities, activities that provide academic and social support; opportunities for students and faculty to attend professional conferences to present of their research; the SUNY AGEP Summer Research Institute and Summer Bridge Pro to recruit and prepare talented undergraduates for graduate study and a range of statewide activities for students and faculty. To facilitate these goals, SUNY AGEP continues to develop and implement: 1)a comprehensive, timely and accurate data collection and tracking system, 2) a comprehensive communication system throughout the Alliance, 3) a program-wide evaluation that uses both formative and summative measures to gauge program success and examine the program in the context of larger policy issues, 4) strong articulation in order to increase the pool of students who move successfully from undergraduate to graduate institutions, and 5) a strong support system within each institution to make SUNY AGEP goals become a permanent part of the SUNY infrastructure. Intellectual Merit SUNY AGEP is looking closely at curricular and pedagogical issues and their effects on student success and choice of careers. In addition, through the National Center for Inclusive Education (CIE), SUNY AGEP will look to increase the scholarship about UREP STEM programs and their effectiveness. Broader Impact Through the assessment of activities and the work of the National CIE, SUNY AGEP plans to add substantially to the knowledge base about UREP STEM issues and programs. This in turn will help to not only transform the institutions in the Alliance but also improve the overall climate for UREP students nationally.