NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION (NC OPT-ED) AGEP Brief to AGEP National Conference March 19, 2009 Kenneth H. Murray, Ph.D. Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Principal Investigator, AGEP North Carolina A&T State University

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION SNAPSHOTS OF EXCELLENCE HIGHLIGHTS 1.History and Goals 2.Best Practices and Lessons Learned 3.Infrastructure Changes 4.Alliance Success

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION NC OPT-ED AGEP PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Kenneth H. Murray, Ph.D., P.E. Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and AGEP Principal Investigator North Carolina State University David M. Shafer, Ph.D. Assistant Dean for Outreach & Diversity, Graduate School and AGEP Principal Investigator University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Valerie S. Ashby, Ph.D. Gordon and Bowman Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and AGEP Principal Investigator

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION HISTORY OF THE NC OPT-ED AGEP PROGRAM  1999: Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant – then called Minority Graduate Education (MGE) Program  North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) - joint AGEP  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) - independent AGEP  2000: NCSU, UNC-CH and NC A&T began a formal alliance, and later that year decided to integrate this university alliance with all other NSF-HRD supported programs in North Carolina – called the North Carolina Alliance to Create Opportunity Through Education (OPT-ED)  2001: OPT-ED received an AGEP supplement to begin implementing a number of joint programs and to hire an Alliance coordinator  2005: NC A&T, NCSU and UNC-CH received AGEP Phase II funding to expand and continue NC OPT-ED  Since 2005: Added industry partners and provided support for new HBCU-UP programs

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION GOALS 1)To substantially enhance efforts in North Carolina to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students receiving PhD degrees and ultimately entering the professoriate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. 2)To integrate the resources of existing programs and build a broader alliance to serve minority students. 3)To build strategies for identifying and supporting underrepresented minority students who want to pursue academic careers in the STEM disciplines. 4)To facilitate change in the culture of our institutions and to ensure a continued norm of inclusiveness and movement towards the above goals well after the end of the Alliance for Graduate Education and Professoriate (AGEP) support. 5)To seek NSF/NIH, state and industry funded expansion opportunities into the partnership programs.

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION AGEP-FUNDED PROGRAMS AT NC STATE, UNC-CH, NC A&T FOR OPT-ED STUDENTS  Visitation Programs  Academic Year and Summer Research Experiences  Joint Summer Research Program Symposium at NC State  21 Programs; 202 posters; 55 institutions; 21 states and Puerto Rico  Bridging and Transition Programs  Research Support for Current MS & Ph.D. Students  Research Materials/Supplies Grants  Assistantships  Supplemental Fellowships  Professional Development Workshops  Travel Funds for Undergraduates and Graduate Students  Future Faculty Recruitment Program

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION SUMMARY OF MAJOR NC OPT-ED (AGEP) ACTIVITIES  Graduate Student Cross Talks*  Mentoring Workshop for Current and Future Faculty*  Summer Research Programs (Nationally)  Steering Committee Meetings (Alliance-Wide)  NC OPT-ED Alliance Day (National Conference)*  Professional Development Workshops  Data Collection and Evaluation * Best practices

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION GRADUATE STUDENT CROSSTALKS  Crosstalks are held 3 times a year alternating locations between each of the three AGEP (NC A&T, NCSU, UNC-CH) institutions. The purpose of the graduate student crosstalks is to provide opportunities for underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students from across the NC OPT-ED Alliance to come together for informal conversations in the form of discussion groups, networking, programmatic activities and socialization.  Held on Friday evenings from 6 to 8:00pm. Often social activities are conducted afterwards led by the host institution’s graduate students.  Students select the topic for the next meeting Crosstalk Goals: Enhance Graduate Student Retention Promote Advancement to the Ph.D. and professoriate Encourage peer mentoring & networking Diversify the STEM workforce

North Carolina State University, September 5, 2008 Topic: “Researchers Connect with Computing Resources on the Open Science Grid” Speaker: Stephanie McLean, Director of Education and Outreach, Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI). Institutions represented: NC A&T, NCCU, NCSU and UNC-CH

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 14, 2008 Topic: “Managing the Stresses of Graduate School to Ensure Success.” Speakers: Dr. Peggy Dilworth-Anderson, Professor/Director, Health Policy & Management, UNC-CH and Dr. Joanne Marshall, Distinguished Professor, School of Information & Library Science, UNC-CH, also Yoga Instructor. Institutions represented: NC A&T, NCCU, NCSU, UNC-CH

North Carolina A&T State University, January 30, 2009 Topic: “What next? Life after the Ph.D.” Speaker: Russ Read, Executive Director, National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce Institutions represented: NC A&T, NCSU, UNC-CH, UNC-G

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION MENTORING WORKSHOP FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE FACULTY NC OPT-ED annually sponsors faculty dialogues on mentoring  Uses small group discussion and individual interaction  Raises comfort and knowledge levels while presenting best practices  Allows some one-on-one discussions  Workshop brings together current and future faculty to share positive and negative experiences in mentoring  Discusses institutionalization of best mentoring practices Mentoring Workshop Goals: Expand and nurture mentoring skills Enhance graduate student retention Identify ways and means to institutionalize mentoring best practices Diversify the STEM workforce

"Mentoring & Diversity - Gateway to Empowerment“ March 31, 2008 Breakout Sessions: Faculty breakout session and Graduate Student/Post-Doc breakout session

“ Mentoring & Diversity - Gateway to Empowerment” March 31, 2008 Panel discussion provided by 9 PAESMEM award recipients: (From R to L above) Martha Absher, Duke University; Dr. Winser E. Alexander, NC State University; Dr. Vallie Guthrie, NC A&T State University; Dr. Tony L. Mitchell, NC State University; Dr. Christine Grant, NC State University; Dr. Steven F. Watkins, Louisiana State University; Dr. Tanya Furman, Penn State University; Dr. Jonathan F.K. Earle, University of Florida; Dr. Ricardo B. Jacquez, New Mexico State University

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION NC OPT-ED ALLIANCE DAY (National Conference)  North Carolina LS-AMP co-sponsored  Professional Development & Informative Workshops – By education level  Student (Poster and Oral) Research Presentations – High School through Graduate School  Recruitment Fair  Formal Network and Partnerships Alliance Day Goals: Promote higher education in STEM fields Networking Develop solid presentation skills Learn about educational opportunities from recruiters Mentoring (peer and faculty) Test evaluation techniques with students at different levels

NC OPT-ED ALLIANCE DAY CONFERENCE September 26, Attendees Graduate, Undergraduate, Community College, High School & Middle School Students from 10 different states 143 Total Institutions 34 Undergraduate and Graduate Recruiters

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION NC OPT-ED AGEP INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES & SUPPORT  On August 1, 2008, NCSU opened a new Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to postdoctoral employment as well as to provide programs, resources and support to postdocs.  Letters of Support were provided to the following grant proposals: 1.Winston Salem State University HBCU-UP Program: “Raising Achievement in Mathematics & Science” 2.NC Mathematics and Sciences Education Network (Pre-College Program): “Transformative Exposure to Classes that Heighten Interests in Technology”  Active partnership exists between NC OPT-ED Alliance, Atlantic Coast SBE Alliance, NIH Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) Program as well as industries within North Carolina and professional organizations.

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION Pre-College MSEN Alliance Day UG Research Symposium Transition AGEP Institutional Programs Alliance Day Bridging Programs Seminars/Workshops PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE Industry Partnership: Burroughs Wellcome Fund(BWF) Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) NC Biotechnology Center (NCBC) Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) Prepare Future Faculty AGEP Institutional Programs CREST Alliance Day Crosstalks Seminars/Workshops Mentoring Workshop Future Faculty Recruitment Program Grad School Prep LSAMP/HBCU-UP/AGEP Alliance Day Travel Funds Seminars/Workshops Research Experiences Visitations Retention AGEP Institutional Programs CREST Alliance Day Mentoring Workshop Crosstalks Assistantships Supplemental Fellowships Professional Development

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION Gregory D. Goins, Ph.D. B.S. in Biology, 1988 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill M.S. in Ecophsiology, 1991 North Carolina State University Ph.D. in Ecophysiology, 1993 North Carolina State University USDA Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota Associate Professor of Environmental Biology PI, BLEND Undergraduate Biomathematics Initiative North Carolina A&T State University PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE An example of SUCCESS

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION Carin Ann Lightner SPGRE, summer 1998 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill B.S. in Mathematics, 1999 North Carolina Central University M.O.R.(Masters of Operations Research) - Mathematics, 2002 North Carolina State University Ph.D. in Operations Research – Industrial Engineering, 2008 North Carolina State University Adjunct Assistant Professor Department of Economics & Finance North Carolina A&T State University PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE An example of SUCCESS

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE On the way… Wanida Lewis B.S. in Chemistry, 2005 St. Augustine’s College M.S. in Chemistry, 2008 North Carolina Central University Doctoral Program, currently Food Science North Carolina State University

NC OPT-ED Partners from AGEP, NC LSAMP, HBCU-UP, CREST and NC MSEN Programs

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Mr. Larry Campbell, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) NC OPT-ED Program Manager and Alliance Coordinator University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Chemistry Kenan Labs Suite A207 Campus Box 3290 Chapel Hill, NC Phone: Fax:

NORTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION