AGEP: Connectivity and Implementation

Institute For Broadening Participation, South Portland ME

Investigators

Abstract

This project proposes to strengthen the national network of partnerships and resource sharing for the NSF?s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) through the services of the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP). IBP will serve as a hub for a wide variety of services specifically oriented toward the goal of creating a truly national network of AGEP institutions. This project will maximize connectivity at multiple levels within the AGEP community. IBP is a small, coordinating organization which has worked with the Division of Graduate Education at NSF for the past four years. IBP has developed an implementation model for supporting a national network in an effort to increase the number of underrepresented minorities and women in STEM fields. An extensive infrastructure has been built for gathering, storing and exchanging information between programs, potential students, minority serving institutions and organizations and student mentors, with a resulting increase in the number of students who successfully navigate the transition from their undergraduate programs to graduate school. IBP has also begun developing an infrastructure to assist graduate students in the next steps in their career paths, post doctoral opportunities, faculty and other positions. This new national model demonstrates how educational initiatives designed to achieve significant cultural and structural change can be implemented by a small staff dedicated to the overall objective of broadening participation in STEM. IBP is now positioned to assist AGEP in strengthening and extending its national network of program leaders, students, potential students, and student mentors. An enhanced national network will increase the visibility and capabilities of this effort, attract entry level scientists to STEM careers, and produce a diverse new cadre of scientists and leaders for the public and private sectors by increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in the academy. Intellectual Merit By dedicating a small staff to these goals, IBP has been able to develop an innovative and comprehensive approach for addressing underrepresentation in all contexts. By researching the issue, identifying problems, and posing, testing, and refining solutions, IBP has made significant progress in developing tools and methods to reduce barriers for students from less advantaged backgrounds, to cross the technology divide and to make information accessible to students who may have fewer resources. This IBP approach and the related tools created and disseminated will make an important contribution to producing a diverse STEM workforce bringing a wide variety of talent and perspectives to these fields. Broader Impact IBP?s work is geared toward two broad impacts. First, increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in AGEP programs will contribute to the creation of a STEM workforce which is as diverse and inclusive with respect to social makeup. Second, IBP?s comprehensive approach can serve as a model for adaptation by any regional or national program that seeks to diversify and increase their human resource pipeline.