Northern Ohio AGEP-T

Collaborative Research: Northern Ohio AGEP-T: A Racially and Ethnically Inclusive Graduate Education Model in Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering

The Division of Human Resource Development's (HRD) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program (AGEP) is committed to the national goal of increasing the numbers of underrepresented minorities (URMs) entering and completing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate education and postdoctoral training to levels representative of the available pool. URMs include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. 

Case Western Reserve University, Kent State University, the University of Akron, the University of Toledo, Youngstown State University, Bowling Green University, and Cleveland State University will collaborate to create the Northern Ohio Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NOA-AGEP): A Racially and Ethnically Inclusive Graduate Education Model in Biology, Chemistry, and Engineering (BCE). These alliance schools will also partner with Central State University and Tuskegee University. This project was created in response to the NSF's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program solicitation (NSF 14-505) for the AGEP-Transformation (AGEP-T) track. The AGEP-T track targets strategic alliances of institutions and organizations to develop, implement, and study innovative evidence-based models and standards for STEM graduate education, postdoctoral training, and academic STEM career preparation that eliminate or mitigate negative factors and promote positive practices for underrepresented minorities (URMs). The NOA-AGEP project will develop, implement, and study a model to improve URM student participation, preparation, and success in BCE graduate education, and to prepare them for entry into the professoriate

This AGEP-T project will uniquely contribute to foundational knowledge about the recruitment, retention, and graduation of doctoral URMs in BCE. The emphasis on inclusive graduate education, an "umbrella" of support for graduate students, and extensive diversity training for BCE faculty and staff offers an exceptional opportunity for a regional group of universities with low URM STEM doctoral student enrollment to investigate the promotion of inclusive policies, practices, and initiatives. The lessons learned as this project progresses, and the ultimate results from the work will provide information that will be beneficial to educators, administrators, and policymakers, as well as the general public.

Want to know more? Contact Dr. Anton A. Komar, CMMS Director.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers HRD 1432053, 1432864, 1432868, 1432878, 1432891, 1432921, and 1432950. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.