Midwest AGEP/SBE Northwestern University University of Chicago University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Ohio State University Penn State University Temple University University of Wisconsin - Madison

Characteristics of Alliance Members Mix of public and private. Medium to large. All R1 universities.

Activities - general Develop new approaches to diversity –New programs in general –New alliance-level programs Share best practices NOTE: Many specific activities help in more than one of our four major activities (recruitment, transition, retention, and professional development).

RECRUITMENT - general Planning/Funding of recruiting visits –Applicant visits/weekends –Faculty recruiting trips –New sources for applicants Person-to-person contacts at universities and colleges. –Administrators –Faculty (still needs to be done) Special programs: –E.g., tuition scholarship for Fattah attendees with 1200 GRE who matriculate at Temple

RECRUITMENT - Alliance Alliance - brochure with blank area for tailoring. Alliance - shared recruiting contacts: –E.g., Temple presence at Fattah Conference

SROP - general Support increased numbers of students. Piggyback with related programs like McNair. New opportunities for SROP students: –E.g., OSU seeking connections with national institute held nearby –E.g. special presentations describing graduate school (what it is, why go, how to prepare)

SROP - Alliance Encourage to apply within Alliance: –Know each other’s research areas Idea for future – share SROP students across Alliance for multiple summers (borrowed from STEM Alliance)

TRANSITION Pre-freshers/Pre-doctoral institutes –Math, statistics, writing, academic strategies –Emphasis on preparation, not remediation –Open to all Alliance benefit: We have shared these among ourselves and have adapted or will adapt to the needs of each campus.

RETENTION - general AGEP/SBE Professors and Scholars –Faculty and senior graduate students dedicated to helping younger graduate students –Available as mentors, tutors, safety net, etc. Intensive first-year monitoring. Help as needed: –AGEP/SBE Professors and Scholars –Tutors

RETENTION - continued e-portfolios –Concept from Penn State – shared with Alliance –Used for mentoring, monitoring, career planning Student group activities –General meetings – monthly, each term –Range of topics: Orientation – academic, social, locale Diversity issues – general discussion, book club Career planning and survival Professional and social networking

RETENTION - continued Financial: –Pre-fresher programs –Summer research with faculty –Conference travel (when no other source) –Direct aid to student Alliance shares best practices at regular meetings of PIs/Directors.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT e-portfolios Professional skills training –Teaching –General presentation skills –Writing Video-conferences and workshops –Some live, some canned but available –Topics coordinated within Alliance Diversity in public health – Temple Job opportunities – Wisconsin Crime and Justice (in planning stage) - OSU

PLACEMENT Visits by URM alumni –Advise students on job search –Advise faculty and administrators on needs of graduate students of color Resources for job search

INFRASTRUCTURE Directors/Coordinators on each campus Shared planning and support of video conferences and workshops Shared e-portfolio concept Shared evaluation tools –student surveys –e-portfolio concept –coordinated alliance evaluation

PLANNED – but not started yet Summer conference Web site Building connections to bridge institutions –common research –invite faculty from bridge schools –Phi Beta Kappa style speaker program Alliance recruitment database