Slides from a series of talks that I gave ~2015 about building REU programs for under-represented minority students

1. Students are as mayflies
Strategies for building institutional relations supporting
underserved minority students
Josh Halpern
Chemistry
Howard University
jhalpern@howard.edu
Dick Fahey, NASA/GSFC, Helen deClercq, Gary Harris, Howard,
Scott Sinex and Scott Johnson, PGCC, Paul Sabila Gallaudet,
Dan Reich, Johns Hopkins, Mike Spencer Cornell
1

2. Conclusions
• The STEM pipeline can be widened by building
partnerships between R1s, NRHUs, MSIs,
community colleges and government labs
• REU programs are crucial for individual students
• Summer REU/internships don’t continue
• How can a program affect more students,
• Continue through the academic year and
• Allow for educational innovation
• Involve faculty at the student’s institutions
2

3. Things to Think About
With the right partners unanticipated good things will happen
They (and the students) will do things you never thought of
Smile
With the right partners marginal things will happen
Things you don’t understand the reason for
Keep on smiling
Talk with your partners
Learn
If bad things keep happening
Maybe you have the wrong partners?
3

4. Where are your partners
• Almost all faculty in higher educational institutions share a
common graduate school experience
• Some faculty are entrepreneurial, others are not
• Some faculty are flexible, others are not
• The hard job is to find the right partners
4

5. How to Find Them
• Finding partners is key
• Requires humility, time and patience
• Not everyone is interested
• A long term commitment
• Formative process
• Listen and “borrow”
5

6. Partnership
• Must give partners a stake
• Partners choose their students
• They are the best judges
• Small amount of academic year funding
• Exchange visits
• Build continuity
• Support their initiatives
• Involve them in your research
6

7. Role of the NRHU
7
An intermediary between CCs, VNRHU and R1s
• Faculty provide day to day supervision
• Build research skills
• Identify and remediate weaknesses
• Identify students who move on to the R1s
• Mediate collaboration between R1 and others

8. Programs
Examples
• An REU program for CC students
• A Faculty and Student Team (FaST) program @ GSFC
• A partnership joining a CC (PGCC), an HBCU (Howard) an
MSI (Gallaudet) and research universities (JHU & Cornell)
8

9. A CC oriented REU program
• Helen deClercq PI – Early 2000s
• 10 students from 5 Maryland CCs
• Previous informal contacts at some
• Not successful in finding partners everywhere
• CCs selected the students
9

10. Simple ideas
• Stressed simple ideas daily
• Mathematics tutorial
• Introduction to lab safety, library, lit searching, etc.
• End of summer reports
• Students shared a common office
• Importance of first term after transfer
• Constructing their schedule
• Study groups
• What to expect of professors
10

11. Patrick Ymele-Leki
• Montgomery College, 2002
• Summer 2001, Howard REU
• BA UMBC, 2004
• PhD UMBC, 2009
• Research Fellow, Environmental Microbiology, Harvard
Clinical and Translational Sciences Center
• Assistant Professor, ChemE, Howard University, 2012
1. Acosta MA, Ymele-Leki P, Kostov YV, Leach JB. Fluorescent microparticles for sensing cell microenvironment oxygen
levels within 3D scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2009 Jun; 30(17):3068-74
2. George NP, Ymele-Leki P, Konstantopoulos K, Ross JM. Differential binding of biofilm-derived and suspension-grown
Staphylococcus aureus to immobilized platelets in shear flow. J Infect Dis. 2009 Mar 1; 199(5):633-40
3. Ymele-Leki P, Ross JM. Erosion from Staphylococcus aureus biofilms grown under physiologically relevant fluid shear
forces yields bacterial cells with reduced avidity to collagen. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Mar; 73(6):1834-41
4. Mascari L, Ymele-Leki P, Eggleton CD, Speziale P, Ross JM. Fluid shear contributions to bacteria cell detachment
initiated by a monoclonal antibody. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2003 Jul 5; 83(1):65-74
11

12. FaST
• Grew out of separate faculty and student
internship programs at NASA/GSFC
12
• Summer student internships
• Evaluating hundreds of applications was not simple
• Limited by the time NASA mentors could give
• Students only had 10 weeks
• No continuity

13. FaST
• Dick Fahey and I noticed that
• There are faculty at NRHUs with spectacular
research skills
• Faculty fellowships often created lasting relations
• The faculty fellows often sent students in the next
years as interns
• Some brought their own students with them
13

14. FaST
• The program
• Selected faculty members from applications
• The faculty members selected one FaST student
• Almost all of the faculty found ways to bring
additional students
• The program paid for the NASA partners to visit
the FaST schools in the fall
• There was supposed to be a small amount of
follow on funding
14

15. FaST
Benefits
• Productive teams, student interns did not sit around
• Some faculty nucleated other student interns in the
division.
• On-going collaborations, joint proposals and papers
• Fall visits by NASA collaborators were big events on
small campuses
• NASA gained access to needed instrumentation
• A real two way street
15

16. PREM Goals
To enhance diversity in materials research and education by
stimulating the development of formal, long-term, collaborative
materials research and education partnerships between
minority-serving institutions and Materials Research Science
and Engineering Centers (MRSEC).
Partnership for Research and Education in Materials
NSF – Division of Materials Research
16

17. PGCC Benefits
• Internal validation
• External validation
• New opportunities for faculty and students
17

18. Getting Students in the Pipeline
• Summer REU at Howard and Hopkins
• Real world research
• Away from home experience
• Best students to Johns Hopkins in yr 2 (7)
• Follow-up during semester
18
18

19. Results
• Many students now apply to other REUs
• Student selected by R1 REUs because of work done
in previous year at Howard
• Student transferring to Howard and to
research universities (UMd VTech)
19
19

20. Stuff PGCC Did
• Poster displays in Chesapeake Hall
(chemistry/biology) and CAT building
(engineering) – student success model!
• Student publications displayed
20

21. Seminar Classes at CCs – Special!
• Honors Seminar (CHM/BIO/EGR 2990H)
• Nanotechnology
• Howard and Johns Hopkins speakers
• Spring 2011 (3rd offering)
• Unusual at CCs
• More auditors than enrolled
21

22. In-house Curriculum Development
• Materials Science and Engineering Class
• Sophomore EGR course – EGR 2300
• Labs use Howard equipment
• Added material engineering into theintroductory engineering
course. Hundreds of students who would not otherwise be
introduced to any materials science in their academic
program were introduced to materials science.
• PREM is a curriculum driver because faculty want to
participate
22

23. What it is all about
In terms of the “transfer student” issue, I am also sure that
the experience of one of our students, who came from a
community college, was the difference-maker in giving him
the confidence to apply to top research universities to
complete his Bachelor’s degree. He had offers of
admission from at least two such schools, and
selected one after being offered a full scholarship. To
have reached this level of achievement, including
likely co-authorship on two manuscripts now in
preparation, from a community college level of
preparation is simply astounding.
23
From a PREM colleague at Johns Hopkins:

24. And there are benefits to the R1
24
One other benefit to my own group that I should mention:
one of the postdoc mentors is now applying for
academic positions, and has obtained an instructor
position at a local college as a steppingstone. I am
confident that his experience in mentoring diverse
students is serving him well in this new role, and is a
highly positive.

25. • Gallaudet is the national university for the deaf
• In 2009, the PREM decided that building a relationship with
Gallaudet was a high priority and a national one
• In summer 2010 Prof. Paul Sabila from Gallaudet did research
at Howard
Gallaudet . . . .
25

26. • One Gallaudet student was supposed to come
• Three came
• Paul said that they were so excited that he had to bring them
• NSF provided a supplement
Gallaudet . . . .
26

27. • We had students and faculty from PGCC, GU, and Howard
• We set up laptops in our seminar room
• Seminars were held by instant messaging on gmail or WebEx
• Everyone learned a very little ASL
• Friday was scientific ethics day w. pizza
• The entire group + the HNF REU visited NIST and JHU
• There was an end of program poster session at JHU
• It was a big deal – NSF came
• This was important to the students
Gallaudet . . . .
27

28. Conclusions
• The STEM pipeline can be widened by building
partnerships between R1s, NRHUs, MSIs,
community colleges and government labs
• REU programs are crucial for individual students
• Summer REU/internships don’t continue
• How can a program affect more students,
• Continue through the academic year and
• Allow for educational innovation
• Involve faculty at the student’s institutions
28

29. Thank you for listening
29

30. This talk grows out of
• Involvement with educational programs
• Director NASA/DC Space Grant Consortium 1991-96
• Associate Director since 1996
• Ran NASA/GSFC faculty fellowship program 1995-2007
• Director, NSF PREM involving HU/JHU/PGCC 2006-2012
30

31. Basics
• Finding partners
• Giving them responsibility
• Building a program with them
31

32. Targets
• Students AND Faculty
• Non-Research Habituated Universities (NRHUs)
• Community Colleges
• Under-represented groups
• Research Universities
32

33. Research Intensive Universities
• Primary focus on research
• Prepares the next generation of faculty
• High levels of financial, technical and
administrative support
• Faculty grants support students & postdocs
• Faculty have strong external links within
their fields
• Faculty are involved in research management
and policy at the national level
33

34. Non-Research Habituated
Universities (NRHU) and CCs
• Primary focus on teaching (3+3 and more)
• High level of interaction with undergraduates
• Low level of financial, technical and
administrative support
• Faculty are isolated within their fields
• Few opportunities for scholarly work
34

35. Knowledge
• CC/NRHUs students need to know
• What is expected
• What resources are available
• Research involvement helps
• Experience of other places helps
• Do not underestimate the thrills and challenges of living in
a dorm
35

36. Transferring
• How do we help students succeed
• Moving from an HBCU, MSI, NRHU, CC is hard
• You arrive in a very different place
• You don’t know the faculty
• The faculty does not know you
• Faculty and other students often expect you to fail
36
Right now many schools have more CC transfers
than entering freshman in a year
National Transfer Institute http://blog.ung.edu/transferinstitute

37. How do we convince the R1 faculty
37
Faculty involvement is required at all partner schools
Selection and preparation of students is important.
R1 programs may require an intermediate partner
Requires a change in focus and structure of REU programs
We have to be realistic about ourselves and our students

38. Remember that student?
38
When this student came to Howard in 2009 before going to
Hopkins in 2010, he was having difficulty with calculus. He
was told in no uncertain terms that someone as capable as
he obviously was should ace the course, and he was offered
a helping hand from Howard faculty and students.
Need for intermediate stations in the pipeline
Need for partnerships with CCs MSIs, NRHUs

39. Benefits of REUs
• Attract students to graduate schools
• Increasingly attract undergraduates from CCs
• Build bridges between institutions
• Change attitudes
• Chemistry is all about getting lucky but you can’t get lucky
without being there
• URMs, Community College and deaf students
are often not there
39

40. Research with Undergraduates
I am writing on behalf of Steve Student.
I understand that Steve is applying for
entry to the Southern North Dakota
Medical School at Hoople
Steve was a student in my general
chemistry course three years ago. Of
the 164 students in the class he received
the sixth highest grade. I can see this
in my marking book This is quite good.
It was a really hard course
I remember talking with Steve a few times
and he impressed me as a well mannered
and well spoken young man. I think.
In any case, I am sure he will do well at
your school and am happy to recommend
him to you.
The letter you don’t want
And the one you want
I am writing on behalf of Steve Student. Steve
has been working in my lab for about three years
including summers. He has taken on major
responsibilities for development of our project and has
demonstrated a remarkable capability to work equally
well with abstract concepts as well as practical devices.
Steve is absolutely tops--I am sure there is no
better applicant. I’ve worked with many students
in my laboratory and Steve is by far the best. He
is an excellent student, as evidenced by his grades
and a very quick learner in the lab. He works
independently, without prodding, but is not at all
reluctant to seek assistance when needed. But,
of course, just as in the fable of the tortoise and
the hare, talent alone is insufficient, hard work
and persistence are required as well and Steve
is a very persistent and very hard worker.
By the way, I’m enclosing the galley proofs of the paper
Steve, you and I wrote and will appear in Science next
week.
40

41. More
Vernella Vickerman
BS Howard (Chemical Engineering
PhD. MIT (Bio Engineering)
Merck
Tedric Campbell
BS Tougalloo
PhD Florida State (Polymer Chemistry)
Excellatron Solid State, Sr. Scientist
Obichi Ikechi
BS Howard University (Chemical Engineering)
MBA UConn
Halliburton, Technology Project Manager
41

42. FaST- Goals
• A central issue for fellowship programs is follow on. Student internships
bring short term benefits to the organizations where the interns work,
they surely benefit the interns, and sometimes lead to career choices
that internship sponsors desire. Yet, there is a low multiplier effect
beyond good will communicated to other students after a good
experience. Faculty programs have the potential for longer term
involvement coupled with a more mature and sophisticated intellectual
exchange. Although NASA has recruited several faculty from fellowship
programs, the primary workforce benefit is the ability of faculty to act as
talent spotters and steer their students to NASA careers. By combining
faculty/student summer internships and paying attention to academic
year follow on we hope to enrich the benefits of both types of programs.
This program emphasizes building teams of faculty, student interns and
NASA mentors. We will provide an intense introduction to EMSD and
NASA R&D, and build links between NASA and the universities
42

43. FaST
• Summer student internships
• Limited by the time NASA mentors could give
• Students only had 10 weeks
• No continuity
• Evaluating hundreds of applications was not simple
43

44. Original idea??
• NO
• Since 1993 DOE has run a FaST program
• Other similar efforts – U Cincinnati Bruce Ault
44

45. Howard University
Johns Hopkins University
Prince George’s Community College
Partnership for Research and Education in Materials
45

46. Howard University
Cornell University
Gallaudet University
Prince George’s Community College
Partnership for Reduced Dimensional Materials
46
Be Kind

47. Lessons Applied
47
• Built in FaST slots for PGCC and Gallaudet
• Plans and mechanism for FaST @ Cornell
– not entire summer, short acad. Yr. visits
• IRG meetings @ Howard by video
• End of summer multi day trip to Cornell with tours,
poster session, etc.
• Major effect on support @ PGCC and Gallaudet

48. Why PREM
- Provide research opportunities
- Improve materials education
- Diversify the technical workforce
- Opportunities to stay current and become visible
48

49. • Given greater visibility for the Engineering
program and STEM in general
• Increased student opportunities
• Increased student-faculty
interactions
• Increased materials approach
in courses
PREM has…
49

50. •The NanoExpress, is a nanotechnology lab on wheels
•Demonstrates nanotechnology for K thru gray
•The PREM brings the NanoExpress to Howard and PGCC as a state-
of-the-art laboratory for teaching materials science, engineering and
physical chemistry.
•PREM students act as docents for the NanoExpress.
NanoExpress
50

51. For STEM Students
• NanoExpress on campus
• visited by general and STEM students and staff –STEM recruiting
• engineering students introduced to laboratory equipment
• Molecular Visualization
- hands-on session
for STEM students
- including chicken-wire
nanotubes
51