The first key to success of CCNY PREM is to bring qualified and motivated students into the program. We have planned a novel recruitment program that will first and foremost inform qualified undergraduate students, focusing on under-represented groups, about the research enterprise and their opportunities for advanced study and careers. In the process of presenting the opportunities at CCNY and Chicago, the PREM participants will thus serve as a resource for students. While we seek to bring highly motivated students to work with us, this recruiting program will be a springboard for students regardless of their ultimate place of study. It is our goal to establish a lasting reputation for the CCNY-Chicago partnership as the leader in development of minority talent in STEM.
Task Force for Minority Enrollment and Retention
This effort is facilitated by the fact that Watkins is Faculty Advisor for the City College Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and is Chair of the Grove School of Engineering Task Force for Minority Enrollment and Retention. This Task Force has developed an external minority graduate student recruitment plan, which complements this plan through activities including minority recruitment visits and research presentations. Watkins is also the faculty representative to the CUNY-NSF Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP). The CUNY LSAMP operates the CUNY NSF Bridges to the Doctorate Program. We prefer undergrads to move to other schools for graduate study, but where staying in New York is best for personal reasons, the Bridges minority M.S. students are an excellent source of prospective graduate students. Watkins is an invited participant in an Alfred P. Sloan foundation program that sponsors his minority Ph.D students to attend an annual professional development workshop and conference for such students. The minority students in the PREM will be included. We are also planning to take part in activities to reach local high schools to promote STEM study in college studies for New York City high school students. We are particularly interested in students who feel that university education is out of reach owing to family circumstances, providing them with examples of successful students who have used the access provided by a moderately priced education at City College to go on to successful careers in science and technology. This high school connection will complement the outreach program designed to bring high school students into City College laboratories as discussed in the following section. We will help increase diversity in the Chicago MRSEC-REU program by sending our best students to that program as well as other similar programs around the country, including our own CREST REU program. We have the goal of having every undergraduate PREM participant take part in an REU or similar industrial internship.
Building and Sustaining the Pipleine
During the weekend of October 15th-17th, 2010, CCNY PREM hosted its inaugural Graduate Recruitment Conference. The main goal of the event was to attract minority talent to CCNY. PREM faculty targeted 36 colleges across the country where there were some connections to faculty. Targeted schools included those with NSF funded PREMs, MRSECs, and minority serving institutions. Faculty were asked to nominate two students who demonstrated a capacity for materials research and an interest in pursuing a doctoral degree. A major emphasis was placed on the recruitment of women and students of color as one of the primary goals of CCNY-Chicago PREM is to use CCNY’s diverse and high-quality student body and research university status to drive permanent added participation of under-represented groups in materials science and related fields. Faculty and students were invited to take part in this event to allow us (and their institutions at the same time) to develop a broad network, while exposing students to opportunities here at CCNY. The focus was to encourage students to stay in the science and technology disciplines by exposing the excitement and the career opportunities in the field. We hope they will join us, of course, but the ultimate goal is to help students see their value as contributors in the field, and to make a good decision on their future. PREM funds allowed us to provide lodging and travel for a total of 36 guests (26 students and 10 faculty advisers).
The conference program included an overview of CCNY PREM, Chicago MRSEC, and NSF CREST: CENSES‘s mission and research expertise. Current graduate and undergraduate research fellows presented their work and discussed the various opportunities available through PREM for research interactions and industrial internships. PREM and CENSES graduate, undergraduate, and post doctoral students also presented posters and engaged invited guests in further research discussions. The program continued with tours of the CCNY campus and research facilities. Guests visited PREM and CENSES labs and viewed demonstrations of the current research conducted by our graduate students.
The second half of the conference program focused on presenting students with information about career opportunities in the field. To assist us in providing the students with a broad range of career options, we invited representatives from other related departments and the Director of the New York Academy of Science’s Science Alliance. The panel served to inform students of the various career opportunities available in industry and academia upon earning a doctoral degree. Students were then taken step by step through the applications process for graduate study at CCNY’s School of Engineering and the CUNY Graduate Center’s Science Doctoral Programs. Students received information regarding stipend availability, NSF Graduate Fellowships, and other sources of graduate funding. The idea was to give the students all of the information necessary to make informed decisions about their future.
This weekend succeeded in thoroughly guiding students through the graduate application process, providing sources of funding, exploring career options, and creating excitement about opportunities at CCNY PREM, but the true measure of success is in the number of students that will apply to CCNY as a direct result of the event. Thus far, several students have demonstrated interest in applying to the Chicago MRSEC REU, and doctoral programs in Physics and Chemical Engineering at CCNY. We will continue to reach out to these students and hopefully have them commit to CCNY as their ultimate choice for doctoral study.
Undergraduate Recruitment Support initiative
In addition to the above mentioned recruitment program targeting seniors and juniors, we plan on reaching out to underclassmen utilizing a more novel approach. The broader goal of this recruitment program is to increase participation of under-represented minorities in STEM disciplines through education, mentoring and research experiences. We take strides towards achieving this goal by creating various activities designed to inform students of the various academic and career options in the STEM fields. Underclassmen will be invited to attend our seminar series in the spring semester designed to inform students of the various educational, industrial, and professional opportunities in STEM fields. PREM graduate students, post docs, faculty and administrators will maintain regular contact with targeted faculty, students, and programs within our expanding network to ensure that education and recruitment goals are met. Undergraduate students within our network will also be given the opportunity to apply for our REU program with our partners at Chicago U.
If you would like to become part of our expanding network and take part in our recruitment and education initiatives, please send a request for further informatiom to: PREM@ccny.cuny.edu.
