Breaking Grounds

One major AGEP program at IU-Bloomington is the funding of “Breaking Grounds Initiatives”: faculty-initiated projects aiming to recruit and retain underrepresented minority graduate students in the STEM disciplines. AGEP will soon award the third round of funds for these initiatives since AGEP began at IU in 2004.

Past awards have supported the following initiatives:

- AY 2006-07, and 2007-08: "Bring IT On!", a three-day workshop held by the School of Informatics for historically black college and university (HBCU) computer science students on developing K-12 outreach programs for their schools. The workshop was repeated during the second year of funding for undergraduate students from IU's campuses around the state. The School of Informatics has also sponsored a reunion event for participants to encourage the development of their outreach programs!

- AY 2007-08: The establishment of a chapter of NOBCChE, the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, at the IUB Department of Chemistry

- AY 2006-07, and 2007-08: "Training for Research and Academic Careers in Communication Sciences" (TRACCS), a Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences summer research training program for underrepresented minority undergraduate students studying communication sciences and disorders

- AY 2007-08: Development of a one-week astronomy immersion program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory for Native American undergraduate students facilitated by the IU Department of Astronomy graduate program

- AY 2007-08: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences efforts to generate community within its underrepresented minority graduate students through one-on-one informal mentoring sessions

- AY 2006-07: Enhancement of underrepresented minority (URM) graduate student recruitment within the Department of Geography by funding conference travel, print material production and networking with LSAMP affiliates

The National GEM Consortium

Indiana University was recently inducted into the National GEM Consortium, a collaboration of universities and corporations with the mission of increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in the science and engineering fields. The University Graduate School and Chemistry/Environmental Science Professor Michael Edwards began the process of joining GEM early in the summer of 2008. With IU as a member of the GEM Consortium, GEM fellows (who are selected from underrepresented minorities in the STEM disciplines) can use their GEM funding to fund their first year as a graduate student here. GEM fellows are also guaranteed an internship opportunity at a sponsoring corporation (which provides the fellowship funding). IU was officially welcomed into GEM at the September 2008 national conference in Washington D.C. We were presented with the certificate shown below, which now hangs in the Graduate School office. Look for a profile of an IU GEM fellow on this blog at a later date!

Not a Retreat But a Forward 2009: Grant Writing in Tighter Times

About 40 graduate students and faculty turned out for "Not a Retreat But a Forward: Grant Writing in Tighter Times" at IUPUI on January 10. This annual AGEP-sponsored workshop instructs participants about obtaining grant funding for research. The following pictures illustrate the day's events:

Participants get a hands-on lesson in searching for funding sources

A writing exercise gives particpants some grant writing practice

Lunch discussion with IUPUI Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Kathryn J. Wilson (center left) and IUB Graduate School Assistant Dean Yolanda Treviño (center right)

Participants break for discussion during a presentation

Comments from participants included:
"Very informative"
"I really enjoyed this workshop. I learned a lot about grant writing and that there is a way to continue studying what you are passionate about."
"Thanks for this valuable and enjoyable workshop!"