Rice-Houston Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program Theresa Chatman NSF PI Meeting March 19, 2009
Project Overview AGEP History Spend a Summer with a Scientist Program: 1989-1999 Rice Minority Graduate Education (MGE) Program: 1998-2003 Rice-Houston Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program: 2004-2009 2
Project Overview Union of: Rice Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Houston Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (HLSAMP) Program 3
Research Projects Community Building Activities Professional Development Initiatives Mentoring Part of AGEP Culture Summer Program 4
Lecture Series 2007 Ruth J. Simmons, President of Brown University (Rice) Valerie Taylor, Chair of Computer Science, Texas A&M University (UH) 2008 Sylvester James Gates, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland (Rice) Jennifer West, Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University (UH) 2009 Warren Washington, National Center for Atmospheric Research (UH) 5
Alliances Successes Distinguished Speakers & Guests Notable speakers give talks and interact with students Hector Ruiz, CEO, President and Chair of the Board, AMD Marta Tienda, Princeton, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs Arlie Petters, Duke University, Professor of Mathematics Raymond Johnson, University of Maryland, Professor of Mathematics 6
AGEP Ph.D. Recipients Former AGEP students give talks and interact with students Cassandra McZeal, Senior Research Mathematician, ExxonMobil John Rodriguez, Member, Technical Staff, Silicon Technology Development, Texas Instruments Illya Hicks, Associate Professor, Rice University Juan Meza, Department Head, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Amanda Mosola, Research Scientist, ExxonMobil 7
Department Interactions Close relationship to campus admissions committees and departmental representatives Meetings with faculty to demonstrate AGEP success AGEP Websites, AGEP brochures, department-specific materials, general graduate brochure Students moved to research dollars --frees up $ for additional students 8
Department Interactions Financial support management by AGEP Steering Committee Negotiate student support with faculty and department heads Track supporting profiles of faculty Provide leverage for student recruitment Provide summer mentors with $500 cost of research supplement Provide conference participation support 9
Lessons Learned Faculty assistance with troubleshooting Summer evaluations of students by faculty (twice) Pumpkin grades for first-year graduate students Tutors provided as needed (early intervention) 10
Number of Underrepresented Ph.D Recipients in All STEM Disciplines at Rice University 30 25 26 20 17 16 14 15 11 10 5 5 2 0 2001/02 2003/04 2005/06 2007/08 PhD Recipients
Infrastructure Changes Presidential Mentor Award at Rice Recognizes faculty with a strong commitment to mentoring, especially minority students Institutionalized Recognition at Spring faculty meeting by President Carries monetary award 12
Infrastructure Changes Rice Presidential Mentor Award - Yin Zhang, CAAM, AGEP Mentor First awardee (2003) In four years, eight female Ph.D. graduates; two Mexican American, two African American 13
Evaluation and Assessment Provide data on the progress of the Rice-Houston AGEP Program meeting its overarching goals of increasing recruitment, retention, and production of minority undergraduates and graduates in STEM fields 14
Evaluation and Assessment Methods and Design Pre- and post-surveys and interviews to assess: Implementation of the Rice model at the University of Houston (formative evaluation) Impact on alliance student participants of cross-institutional community and overall program 15
Evaluation and Assessment AGEP Graduate Survey Surveyed all Rice AGEP graduate participants from 1991-2003 Findings: 80% respondents - AGEP had positive or very positive impact on motivation to obtain doctoral degree 92% respondents - experiences in AGEP Program had positive or very positive impact on desire to remain in graduate school and complete degree 16
Evaluation and Assessment AGEP Graduate Survey Students rated the following AGEP Program components as having a positive or very positive impact on their desire to remain in graduate school: AGEP Program overall (88%) Interactions with other students in program (90%) Being in company of minority students from other ethnic groups besides their own (88%) Being in company of students from their ethnic group (86%) 17
ADVANCE/AGEP Interactions Annual Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position Workshop Bi-monthly Postdoc Luncheons Dean s Lecture on Leadership and Diversity 18
University Commitment High level of university commitment Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies AGEP PI President established Presidential Mentor Award and President s Lecture Series of Diverse Scholars President s Minority Council AGEP positions institutionalized project manager, project administrator Stipend support for AGEP students Partial support for faculty summer salaries Office space and meeting space Campus support for activities 19
Rice President David Leebron The Rice-Houston AGEP program is a sterling example of what progress can be made with the support of two university administrations, dedicated faculty, exemplary staff, and impassioned students. 20