The Howard-UTEP/AGEP Alliance: Unique and Irreplaceable

1. The Howard-UTEP/AGEP Alliance:Unique and Irreplaceable Orlando L. Taylor Vice Provost for Research Dean, Graduate School Howard University Washington, DC

2. Why Unique and Irreplaceable • UNIQUE: The ONLY AGEP Alliance between TWO Minority Serving Institutions serving as the LEAD institutions. • IRREPLACEABLE: Two of the nation’s largest producers of Minority PhD’s in STEM.

3. Howard University: First Cohort of MGE/AGEP Institutions (1997) • Location: Washington, DC • Carnegie Classification: Research/High Research Activity • Minority Classification: Historically Black College and University (HBCU) • Enrollment, 12,000—40% Graduate/Professional • Nations largest producer of African American PhDs AND Baccalaureate origins of African American PhDs

4. University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP): Joined AGEP in 2003 • Location: El Paso, TX • Carnegie Classification: Research/High Research Activity • Minority Classification: Hispanic Serving Institution (MSI) • Enrollment: 20,000—72% Hispanic; 17% graduate and professional

5. Bouchet Assistantships: Sustaining the Effort • Named for Edward Bouchet—First African American to receive a PhD in the United States—Yale, 1876, Physics. • 25 new, university-funded, graduate assistantships for the nation’s best and brightest URMs to pursue PhDs at Howard in STEM. • All recipients must participate in Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program & AGEP activities.

6. II. Howard AGEP Has Joined the CIRTL Network • NSF-funded Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. • The CIRTL Network: Colorado, Howard, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A & M, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt. • CIRTL Mission : To enhance the professional development of STEM graduate students and develop a future professoriate committed to advancing effective teaching practices.

7. What Does CIRTL Provide? • Exposure to integrating research and teaching. • Building learning communities of STEM faculty and graduate students. • New, electronically-delivered and live courses for STEM graduate students throughout the Network. • Effective Teaching with Technology • Diversity in the College Classroom • Teaching and Learning Science in the College Classroom

8. Course on Effective Teaching with Technology • Semester I: students exposed to advanced, research-based teaching technologies currently used by faculty to enhance learning. • Students design individual projects to evaluate the effectiveness of a technology utilized by a faculty member. • Students across the network present the result of their projects to their classmates and the CIRTL community via the web. • Projects and data on student learning are evaluated and discussed. • Semester II: students serve as team leaders in classes and apply the skills and lessons learned in Part I.

9. III. Preparing Future Faculty Pre-Faculty Internships • Provides advanced doctoral students, including AGEP students, with semester or year-long experiences in faculty roles and responsibilities at different institutional types • MOUs with various institutions (10+ currently) to provide stipends to students (Howard pays tuition), along with teaching experiences and research mentoring. • Challenges include involving bench science STEM students in internships • Institutionalized with its own revenue stream via partner institutions and Graduate School budget.

10. IV. Annual PFF Institutes • Held in Washington, DC or El Paso, TX. (June 10-13, 2009). • Open to STEM Students in all AGEP Alliances; About 60 students per year; $350 registration fee. • A three-day “Boot Camp” on Faculty Roles and Responsibilities and the Academic Job Search. • Features local and nationally prominent speakers. • Sample Topics: • Finding the "Right" Faculty Position, Negotiating the Best Start-Up Package and 'Sealing the Deal’ • Balancing Work and Family • Researching and Writing Effective Grant Proposals • New Pedagogies for Enhancing Learning • Assessing Student Learning Outcomes • Contact: PFFSummerInstitute09@gmail.com

11. V. Annual Postdoctoral Institutes • Held in Washington, DC or El Paso, TX. • Open to STEM Students at dissertation level in all Alliances; about 50 annually; $350 registration fee. • A three-day Intensive “Boot Camp” on identifying, funding and crafting a postdoc to fit career goals and interests. • Features local and nationally prominent speakers • Sample Topics • Understanding Different Types of Postdocs • Strategies for Finding the Right Postdoc • Balancing Research, Grant Writing & Teaching • Securing Your Own Postdoctoral Funding • Life After the Postdoc • Contact:kbdeonauth@howard.edu

12. VI. Creation of Graduate School Office of Retention and Mentoring • Led by an Assistant Dean whose position was originally a cost share for AGEP grant • Focuses on tracking, mentoring, and advising students to ensure retention. • Provides Pre-professional development. • Recently purchased Hobsons “Retain” software to facilitate academic tracking and monitoring each semester and at crucial academic junctures,i.e., 1st year, comprehensive exams, candidacy, dissertation progress, etc. • Institutionalized within university budget.