| NSF Org: |
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 28, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 15, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 1723260 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Keri Sather-Wagstaff
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2017 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $409,276.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $409,276.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2019 = $81,624.00 FY 2020 = $81,650.00 FY 2021 = $80,961.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
100 UNIVERSITY DR PRAIRIE VIEW TX US 77446 (936)261-1689 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
P.O. Box 667 Prairie View TX US 77446-0667 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
AGEP, Hist Black Colleges and Univ, NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) |
| Primary Program Source: |
04001920DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04002021DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04002122DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
Four Texas A&M System Universities, The Texas A&M University (TAMU) College Station, TAMU Corpus Christi, TAMU Kingsville and Prairie View A&M University, are collaborating in the Texas A&M System Alliance to develop, implement and study a model to develop, implement and study a model for historically underrepresented minority STEM doctoral candidates completing degrees, transitioning into postdoctoral fellowships, and then successfully entering and progressing in faculty careers.
This alliance was created in response to the NSF's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program solicitation (NSF 16-552) The AGEP program seeks to advance knowledge about models to improve pathways to the professoriate and success of historically underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in specific STEM disciplines and/or STEM education research fields. AGEP Transformation Alliances develop, replicate or reproduce; implement and study, via integrated educational and social science research, models to transform the dissertator phase of doctoral education, postdoctoral training and/or faculty advancement, and the transitions within and across the pathway levels, of URMs in STEM and/or STEM education research careers. This Alliance is also funded by the NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT) and the NSF's Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP).
As the nation addresses a STEM achievement gap between URM and non-URM undergraduate and graduate students, our universities and colleges struggle to recruit, retain and promote URM STEM faculty who serve as role models and academic leaders for URM students to learn from, work with and emulate. Recent NSF reports indicate that URM STEM associate and full professors occupy 8% of these senior faculty positions at all 4-year colleges and universities and about 6% of these positions at the nation's most research-intensive institutions. The Texas A&M System AGEP Alliance has potential to advance a model to improve the success of URM graduate students and post-doctoral scholars as they enter and advance in the STEM professoriate.
The Texas A&M System AGEP Alliance is developing, implementing and studying a new model for advancing dissertating STEM doctoral candidates as they complete their doctorates, enter postdoctoral fellowships, and succeed in faculty positions. Participants include women and men who are either African American, Hispanic American or Native American and who are majoring in the fields of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Marine Biology, and Wildlife Science. The model development, implementation and testing, focuses on a unique set of interventions, including using individualized development plans for participants as they transition from dissertator to postdoctoral scholar to faculty; providing participants with professional development opportunities related to communication, writing, networking and job preparation/transition; supporting participants with mentors at the institutional and field-specific expert levels; and offering participants opportunities to experience academic culture and activities at historically black colleges and universities. The integrated research will address the effects of stigmatization on male and female adults who are non-STEM and STEM African Americans and Hispanic Americans. The formative and summative evaluation is being conducted by Drs. Erin Burr and Kimberle Kelly, from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. There is an external advisory committee which will provide feedback to the team on the effectiveness and outcomes of the project, as well as a separate external advisory group for the integrated research studies.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Four Texas A&M University System institutions -- Texas A&M University (TAMU) College Station, TAMU Corpus Christi, TAMU Kingsville, and Prairie View A&M University -- worked together on developing and studying a graduate education model to support historically underrepresented Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students to complete their doctoral degrees and transition into postdoctoral positions and faculty careers.
The project, called the Texas A&M System Research Model (TxARM), focused on:
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Individualized development plans for participants as they transition from PhD student to postdoctoral scholar to faculty;
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Professional development opportunities related to communication, writing, networking, and job preparation/transition;
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Support from faculty mentors at their institution and experts in their field; and
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Opportunities to experience academic culture and activities at international universities and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The project also included a social science research component that was conducted to study how social pain overlaps with physical pain among healthy, educated, financially stable adults living in the Southwest, as well as the disenfranchised and marginalized members of the U. S. population. The project's participants consisted of women and men from African American, Hispanic American or Native American backgrounds from the four participating universities majoring in Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Marine Biology, and Wildlife Science.
Despite COVID-19 affecting travel and in-person activities, TxARM created interactive workshops and seminars to help participants progress toward their academic goals. Project findings were shared in publications and conferences, and a toolkit was developed to help other institutions replicate the TxARM model.
Out of the twelve participants, eleven completed their PhD program, with the last participant expected to finish in the 2024-2025 academic year. Seven are currently in faculty or instructor positions, two are currently in postdoctoral research positions planning to move into faculty positions, and three went into industry although one remains interested in academia and holds an academic associate position. Institutions where participants hold positions include R1 research institutions, HBCUs, and Hispanic Serving Institutions.
A Leadership Team (LT) comprised of institutional leaders, faculty, program and site coordinators, evaluators, and graduate students met monthly to oversee the project. Smaller campus-based groups met more frequently to discuss specific tasks. The LT meetings provided opportunities for the Alliance members to share and react to feedback and address challenges as a group. They recommended that the program coordinator role be clearly defined for others wanting to replicate the model.
While complete replication of the model remains to be seen, some elements of it are being used by LT members in their daily work with students. They will continue to share the TxARM toolkit and publish papers about the TxARM model and its components.
Last Modified: 12/31/2024
Modified by: E Gloria C Regisford
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