Report:
Conference Proceedings
Expanding Opportunities in Ocean Sciences
VI: Working Groups
The five working groups were designed to allow conference participants an active role in determining the current status and needed improvements in specific areas relating to the successful recruitment and retaining of minority students in oceanic graduate studies. The conference participants received their working group assignments at registration. The working groups were chaired by Dr. Matthew Gilligan, Savannah State College; Dr. Nancy Marcus, Florida State University; Dr. Livingston S. Marshall, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Dr. Margaret Leinen, University of Rhode Island; and Dr. Susan B. Cook, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. Lists of the work group participants can be found in the appendices.
Consensus, Summary, and Recommendations from the Working Groups
A. Working Group 1 -- RECRUITMENT
Consensus: We urge the steering committee through NOAA Fisheries to provide a written response to these recommendations -- where action could be taken, where our recommendations need to be tailored more precisely, how our recommendations were implemented. We also advocate that for effective and successful recruitment, recommendations must target both the message -- convincing students that Ocean Sciences are exciting, necessary, meaningful and rewarding -- and the messengers -- all those groups who must assume responsibility for students' discovery of and matriculation in ocean science programs."
In each instance the personalization of all approaches and strong follow-up was seen as the key to success. Individuals must be identified at the seeking institution who will serve as role models, who are willing to get involved and spend the necessary time. Recruitment is time consuming and has to be recognized as a rewarding and rewarded activity.
Strategies to Improve the Message
Heighten Awareness About The Ocean/Marine Sciences
Develop career/recruitment brochures, videos, posters, laser discs similar to the Southern Association of Marine Laboratories video and The Oceanography Society booklet, but with a more coastal-oriented perspective.
Ensure the material shows how a career in marine science is competitive with other career interests traditionally more attractive to minority students like pre-med and pre-law programs. Provide such materials to parents and guardians of prospective students.
Ensure that minority scientists are highlighted.
Make information on nontraditional careers in the aquatic sciences arena available and identify potential employers for all educational levels.
Develop a traveling exhibit on careers to display at smaller minority schools, meetings of minority professional societies, major professional meetings, diversity conferences, and similar meetings.Expand Outreach Efforts By Adopting Broad-Based Recruiting Strategies
Enlarge the pool of people targeted. Extend efforts to include engineering programs and social sciences (e.g., economics, sociology, anthropology) as well as basic physical sciences, pre-med and pre-law programs.
Prepare K-12 Teachers For Active Participation In Recruitment Efforts
Target K-12 teachers in predominantly minority school districts. Provide concrete information about the opportunities that are available in these fields.
Strategies to Create Effective Messengers
Messengers:
Minority students, faculty and institutions
Graduate students
Majority faculty and institutions
Professional and Scientific Societies
Teachers and Educational Organizations
Federal Mission Agencies
State Mission Agencies
Establishing Partnerships, Linkages And Collaborations
Work with professional societies to enhance knowledge about careers, programs in Ocean Sciences (speakers bureau, conference participation, career booklets, posters, panels, videos, home pages).
Identify key people at HBMSCUs who are on the Internet and who are willing to disseminate information.
Identify key people in CORE and The National Association of Marine Laboratory institutions with marine science programs in support of partnership, linkage, and collaborative efforts.
Create A Speakers Bureau Featuring Representatives From A Wide Variety Of Backgrounds And Orientations
Develop a speaker program, perhaps jointly with professional societies/CORE institutions with support from agencies and foundations.
Use minority speakers/role models. Follow-up and return to campus on a regular basis.
Provide support and materials to the speakers in the form of good graphics, information on career opportunities, job and school requirements, enrichment activities (e.g. internships).
Provide complete financial support since many HBMSCUs face difficulties supporting outside guests even once on campus.
Recognize that most HBMSCUs need speakers who can give broad talks on the topics above, not just talks on a narrow range of research topics.
Work with the host to publicize the event (include posters to announce the talk, video blurbs on the speaker that can be run on the college cable channel, etc.).Increase Opportunities For Experiential Learning
Support more internships and REU type programs. This gives a greater chance for students to discover programs and professional mentors who best suit their needs.
Strategies to Maximize Success
Intensify Use Of The Internet As A Vital Communication Medium
Ensure HBMSCU student access to the Internet and World Wide Web.
Create a marine science World Wide Web page with a mentor/protégé data base.
Establish an Internet directory for careers as well as for aquatic science programs at both majority and minority institutions.
Include information on summer course offerings, REU programs and other available internships, NMFS and other cruise schedules, curriculum modules, and the like.
Develop a list-serve for those wishing to communicate and/or willing to answer questions.
Offer Incentives And Rewards For Participation In Volunteer Activities
Give recognition and release time to researchers involved in recruitment/mentoring activities.
Consult With The End-User And Incorporate Their Perspectives In Program Development Activities
Listen to the faculty and students at HBMSCUs who have been through the programs. This is important as people from majority institutions, funding agencies and federal agencies may not recognize elements, that if lacking, prevent successful programs.B. Working Group 2 -- STUDENT/FACULTY RELATIONSHIP
Consensus: The conference was of great value and it needs to be an on-going effort. We agree that one year is not enough time to fully evaluate the resulting efforts from the conference, thus we suggest the next conference be held in 1997. We also suggest that the planners anticipate publication and distribution costs for the full report.
Increased Participation In Professional Development Activities
Prepare and expose students to meetings of professional societies by encouraging full participation prior to and during these meetings, (e.g. NSF/Hampton/ASLO Program).
Provide Access To The Internet And The World-Wide Web At HBMSCUs
Develop institutional collaboration and linkages to solve technological gaps. Lack of such components prevent students from connecting with other faculty and institutions and locating information about programs, courses, and undergraduate research opportunities at marine labs and oceanographic institutions.
Cultivate Relationships Between Students And Faculty Across Institutions
Establish linkages with science faculty at HBMSCUs to ensure continued matriculation at the graduate level. Students at HBMSCUs with or without marine programs can benefit from presentations about careers, training and opportunities in the marine sciences.
Incorporate Non-Traditional Approaches Into Graduate Education
Make the graduate experience more humane by "holistic" advising that recognizes the need for faculty cultural awareness/competence to mentor underrepresented minority students and for linking students with support systems.
Increase And Expand Programs That Offer Ocean Science Research Exposure And Experiences For Undergraduates
Encourage faculty to develop non-traditional, innovative efforts such as Savannah State College/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (SSC/ HBOI) Bridge program and traditional programs such as NSF's REU Program.
Provide Support And Assistance To HBMSCUs To Introduce Or Expand Marine And Ocean Science Programs To Students.
Transfer surplus equipment, additional staffing through temporary assignment (memoranda of understanding or Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA)), small grants and contracts to hire or compensate students for participation in research at the HBMSCU or a collaborating institution, and assistance to increase grant awards to HBMSCUs.
C. Working Group 3 -- BRIDGING
Consensus: We advocate that NMFS/NOAA support annual meetings for HBMSCUs contacts, in varying sites, in conjunction with professional society meetings and that the information on this effort be distributed on the Internet.
Bridging efforts for the purposes of this workshop and conference are defined as activities specifically aimed at enhancing minority student participation in Ocean Sciences career development. A list of bridge programs is located in the appendices.
Evaluate And Assess Existing Programs
Determine the areas in which programs have experienced greatest successes and those where improvements are needed. Continue and enhance these programs.
Create Bridges At All Levels Of The Educational Pipeline And Across Institutions
The critical linkages include:
. high school to college
. majority to minority institutions and vice versa
. undergraduate to graduate
. 2 year to 4 year institutions
. degree program to job
. professional societies to minority institutions
Integrate Ocean Sciences In Federally-Funded Student Initiatives
Have an Ocean/Marine Science Institute as a component to Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP). AMP supports the establishment of comprehensive approaches to increase the quantity and quality of underrepresented minorities who successfully earn Science and Engineering baccalaureate degrees and to increase the number who go on for graduate study in these fields.
Expand Interagency Collaborations
Encourage and establish interagency initiatives to include federal agencies and/or professional societies and academic institutions.
Expand Funded Opportunities For Graduate Education
Provide more graduate funded traineeships and fellowships.
Provide Funds For Technological Advancement
Provide mini-grants in the range of $200,000 to develop Internet capabilities. Funds should be used to purchase hardware and to create a marine science web page with access to a mentor/ protégé data base.
Intensify Use Of The Internet As A Vital Communication Medium
Establish an Internet directory which includes listings of: career options; aquatic science programs at both majority and minority institutions; summer course offerings; REU programs and other available internships; NMFS and other cruise schedules; curriculum modules, and the like.
Develop a list-serve for those wishing to communicate and/or willing to answer questions.
Create Opportunities For Faculty Development
Fund site visit exchanges for faculty to and from both minority and majority institutions.
Encourage Region-Wide Participation
Provide support for HBMSCU research fairs in four regions at rotating JOI/CORE institutions.
Private Sector Involvement
Bring private sector, business interests, and the like into existing mentoring programs.
Develop A Clearinghouse For Marine Science Programs
Maintain an updated list of contacts for marine science programs at HBMSCUs.D. Working Group 4 -- FACULTY/FACULTY RELATIONSHIPS
Consensus: Efforts should be made to support extended visits by faculty from HBMSCUs to majority institutions with marine sciences programs to allow for the development of collaborative research efforts, especially those that can be continued at the minority institutions and that involve student participation.
Improving communication among faculty, researchers and administrators at minority and majority institutions will ultimately increase the numbers of minority students who pursue careers in the Ocean Sciences. Many of these efforts/ strategies are dependent on the availability of funds and the commitment to dedicate funds for successful implementation.
Expand Opportunities For Faculty Development
Fund informational visits of faculty from institutions with marine science programs to campuses without such programs.
Set up adjunct faculty appointments for HBMSCUs faculty at majority institutions.
Set up adjunct faculty appointments for majority institution faculty at HBMSCUs.
Support HBMSCU faculty participation in UNOLS cruises.
Fund HBMSCU faculty to do research in labs at majority institutions.
Fund collaborative research efforts especially those to be continued at minority institutions.
E. Working Group 5 -- RETENTION
Consensus: Continue the conference on a bi-annual basis with the same constituency at an accessible site and provide travel assistance to increase participation. We also advocate that teachers at all grade levels "teach to the top and give individualized help to the others" in order to retain high standards.
Issues related to retention are considered far more important at the undergraduate than graduate levels. Students at some institutions quietly disappear without asking for help. At other institutions, lack of motivation and lack of basic skills prevent student success. At the graduate level, recruitment is the real issue.
Provide A Sequence Of Experiential Learning Opportunities
Offer pre-REU experience in addition to at least 2 different REU programs before graduation. Internships and on-campus projects supervised by an advisor can substitute for one REU experience.
Expand Outreach Efforts By Graduate Programs
Develop strategies to cultivate an institution's own students in addition to establishing partnerships with historically minority colleges in area and community colleges.
Develop Model Programs In Conjunction With Other Organizations
Forge relationships with business and industry members who are committed to these issues.
Enhance Student's Skills In Key Areas
Support activities that bolster students' quantitative skills (computer access, graphing and math software acquisition and workshops).
Develop Systems Of Support For Students
Include mentoring and other one-one activities as an essential component of all programs. Follow the model George Burbanck has created at HU. He allows struggling students to list their complaints. These comments are given to students who are already achieving academic success who suggest solutions and respond to their colleagues.
F. Federal Partnership Work Group
Consensus: During this meeting, NSF and NMFS indicated that funds are presently available to begin the development of Option 2. Hope was expressed that in the near future the program will expand to include support from other federal agencies such as the ONR and the EPA.
During the conference, representatives from NSF, ONR, NOAA/NMFS and EPA met to discuss the federal resources available to achieve conference goals and how to integrate those resources to develop a federal partnership to complement and/or stimulate financially emerging partnerships between the oceanographic institutions and minority colleges and universities. The highest level of government representative was Dr. Nancy Foster, Deputy Assistant Administrator, NOAA/ NMFS. Dr. Bradford Brown also represented NMFS (Science and Research Director, Southeast Fisheries Science Center). Representatives from the Program Manager level at ONR and NSF were Charles Luther and Joan Mitchell. Carol Daniels (USEPA, Gulf Ecology Division Gulf Breeze) and Darryl Keith (USEPA, Atlantic Ecology Division Narragansett) represented EPA at these discussions. Ambrose Jearld of the NOAA Fisheries chaired the workgroup.
Increasing the Pool of Minority Applicants: Two Options
Option 1: Link NSF sponsored Science and Technology (S&T) Centers at majority institutions with HBMSCUs and fund this linkage with NSF funds. Under this option, HBMSCUs and majority institutions would link to submit proposals to NSF to conduct joint research.
Option 2: Develop a national NSF-like Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program and fund this program with multiple agency funding which will be administered by NSF.
The goals of Option 2 are to increase the pool of minority applicants for graduate marine programs by providing talented undergraduate students with summer research opportunities and experience at academic and federal laboratories for a minimum of 3 summers (i.e. during their undergraduate career). An additional goal is to provide similar opportunities for faculty at HBMSCUs. Structurally, academic and federal laboratories would be arranged or "partnered" into four national groupings (Northwest, Southwest, South and Northeast-Mid Atlantic).
Academic/Federal Links
An example of a Federal/Academic arrangement of research laboratories in the Northwest include linking the University of Oregon, NMFS/NW Fisheries Center, EPA Newport and Corvallis laboratories, Oregon State University and Western Washington State with students and faculty from HBMSCUs. In New England, potential arrangements include NMFS/NE Fisheries Centers -- Narragansett and Woods Hole, WHOI, MBL, EPA-Narragansett, and GSO-URI. In the South, potential arrangements include NMFS/SW Fisheries Center, Miami, NOAA/ Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (AOML), Miami, EPA-Gulf Breeze, Texas A&M University, University of Miami, Duke University, University of North Carolina, University of Delaware, College of William and Mary, and University of Maryland. In the Southwest, potential arrangements include University of California's Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO), NMFS Southwest Fisheries Center, and San Diego State University.Minority Summer Research Internships
It should be noted that several of the institutions named above have established minority summer research internships which have met with various levels of success. By placing these institutional efforts under a common banner with a possible pooling of resources, program effectiveness should increase (i.e. the number of participants should increase) through increased information sharing between programs and through students communicating their personal experiences among themselves. An example of this kind of effectiveness is found in the program at Shannon Point Marine Center at Western Washington University. Shannon Point Marine Center, located in Anacortes, WA (near the Washington/ British Columbia, Canada border) has had long standing relationships with HBMSCUs and annually draws minority students from well beyond their region for research internships.
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