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The South East Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program: Graduate Minority Retention and Preparedness for Academic Careers

Abstract

The South East Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (SEAGEP) is one of a national network of National Science Foundation (NSF) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP). AGEPs have a mandate to catalyze institutional changes to produce an inclusive and supportive environment that will lead to sustained progress in diversifying the graduate student population and eventual placement in academic jobs. AGEPs are led by top level University administrators. In SEAGEP, the University of Florida (UF) serves as the lead institution in partnership with Clemson University (CU) and the University of South Carolina (USC) as primary partners. Secondary partners include the NSF Louis B. Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) programs in Florida and South Carolina, as well as the University of The Virgin Islands (UVI). To provide opportunities for international exposure, SEAGEP has also developed a collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Institutions (LACCEI). SEAGEP is a comprehensive minority graduate level program offering a variety of support to U.S. citizen or permanent resident students who are pursuing Ph.D. degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Students are offered a variety of training experiences and opportunities to prepare them for academic careers.

At the UF, seventy-four students in 22 STEM departments have been directly served through monetary awards to support their studies and research, travel to professional conferences, professional development seminars, mentoring, and peer support. These students include 41 African American, 31 Hispanic, and 2 Native American students. At the end of the fifth year of the grant, the program had an 86% retention rate. To date, program participants have earned 12 Ph. D. and 7 Master’s degrees, and an additional 47 are currently enrolled and making progress towards their degrees. Minority graduate enrollments in STEM departments have increased 56% over the life of the grant, and it is expected that this will result in significant increases in the numbers of advanced degrees earned by minority students in the future. In addition, SEAGEP offers research experiences to minority undergraduate STEM students to increase their interest in and preparedness for graduate school. Specific program offerings and program evaluation results will be described, as well as recommendations on how faculty can become part of these programs across the country.

Introduction

The need to diversify the American scientific workforce 1-4 has been well documented. The NSF has taken a leadership role in efforts to meet this need, by developing programs to directly address the issue through the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, as well as by requiring grantees in the scientific directorates to address their efforts to enhance diversity, as detailed in the broader impacts review criteria.5 NSF Director Dr. Arden Bement has referred to the building of a diverse scientific workforce as not only a priority for NSF, but “perhaps the

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Donnelly, A. (2007, June), The South East Alliance For Graduate Education And The Professoriate Program: Graduate Minority Retention And Preparedness For Academic Careers Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2466