University of California – Davis (UCD):
UC Davis is one of the top public research universities in the world that offers a wide array of research and internship opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students. The Institute for Diversity, Equity and Advancement (IDEA) aims to support programs, projects and research related to promoting diversity and equity at UCD. IDEA’s mission is to consistently ensure all students and faculty to not only feel included, but also to have access to opportunities for advancement.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC):
Classified as a STEM-Dominant Research Doctoral University-High Research Activity, UMBC is recognized nationally as a leader in promoting inclusiveness in graduate education. The latest U.S. News Best Graduate Schools rankings include several UMBC graduate programs as among the best in the nation. Times Higher Education has recognized UMBC as one of the world’s top universities. In a new THE impact ranking, UMBC is #3 in the U.S. and #62 worldwide in global social and economic impact. Undergraduate: 10,932; Graduate: 2,565. The College of Engineering and IT (COEIT) offers 21 areas of study, has 3,995 undergraduate students, and 1,310 graduate students. Research focus areas include security, health, energy, and the environment. COEIT has among its strategic goals to increase the number of tenure-track faculty and continue to build a diverse world-class faculty, and to foster diversity and a climate of inclusive excellence.
UMBC will coordinate the activities of the PROMISE Engineering Institute in Maryland. UMBC, UMCP, JHU, and Morgan State have a history of interacting with one another through several engineering diversity initiatives within and outside of Maryland. UMBC and JHU are members of the 38-institution CIRTL Network. While the activities will span all 4 areas in the mission, most of the activities for which we are seeking financial support fall into the 2nd area: provide students and postdocs with comprehensive research and pedagogical skills, supplemented by development of national and international professional networks to counter the “we can’t find any qualified candidates” response, and to fill the gap of the “it’s not just what you know, but who you know, and who knows you” adage. Since travel will be limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be relying on virtual networks, conferences and workshops.
UMBC will be the primary organizer of two signature events for the PEI. The first will be a virtual workshop that includes participants from both the east and west coast branches of the PEI that will prepare them to navigate their future role as a new faculty member and the teaching, scholarship and service responsibilities within their university and discipline. The Maryland partners will each select a faculty mentor and PhD student teaching fellow to implement what they learned during the workshop during a spring semester course. Our LSAMP grant will fund one to two undergraduate researchers to work with each of the teaching fellows or participating postdocs in the spring and/or summer so that they can gain experience as research mentors in addition to their classroom teaching. The mentoring can continue as they travel together to the SREB conference in April. The second signature event will be the PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) that will be in its 19th year in August 2021. SSI brings together new and continuing graduate students from across Maryland for professional development and networking.