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Science thriveS at alcorn. But Some diScoverieS don’t happen in the laB. In Alcorn’s dynamic living and learning environment, students develop the skills they need for lasting success in today’s global marketplace. As they do, they often find something more: an inner strength and sense of purpose they never knew they had.
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
Celebrating STEM Excellence
CONTENTS
Publisher Jarrett L. Carter, Sr. Editor Autumn A. Arnett Assistant Editor Kyle Yeldell Contributors Mirasha Brown Elizabeth Montgomery Donovan Ramsey Brittany Sommerville Christina Sturdivant
5 Letter from the Editor
8 UNPACKING BARRIERS
Researchers examine keys to successful STEM students at HBCUs By Christina Sturdivant
12 INNOVATION NATION
STEM degrees pave the way to tech entrepreneurship By Donovan X. Ramsey
15 GIRL POWER
Johnson C. Smith University excels in attracting female students to the sciences By Mirasha Brown
20 ACCESS GRANTED
Two-year institutions prepare students for STEM careers By Brittany Sommerville
18 CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE A round-table of top STEM students By Elizabeth Montgomery
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Science
Technology
Engineering
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Mathematics
HBCU Digest
February 2014
Letter from the Editor Dear Reader, With the nation’s increased focus on education and professional development in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics, we would be remiss if we did not stop to consider the role of historically Black colleges and universities in graduating some of the top professionals in these fields of study. HBCUs have a long tradition of producing exemplary professionals in STEM fields, and that tradition is growing nationwide on many public and private Black college campuses and beyond. Next month, dozens of HBCU students and faculty will again convene in Silicon Valley to collaborate on ways to build capacity to support technology innovation as part of the HBCU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Collaborative. Schools like Hampton University are engaging in cutting-edge research on proton therapy and other cancer treatments. Xavier University of Louisiana graduates more African-American students in biological and physical sciences and sends more African-Americans to medical school than any other school in the country. From George Washington Carver to newly-appointed Microsoft chief John Thompson, our alumni have been changing the way we see the world around us for over a century. It is my sincere desire that the stories presented in this issue will be a meaningful contribution to the dialog around the world of possibility that exists for HBCUs in the STEM space.
Most sincerely,
Autumn A. Arnett Editor HBCU Digest
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January 2014
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February 2014
Unpacking Barriers Researchers examine keys to successful STEM students at HBCUs By Christina Sturdivant
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A
shley Cole entered St. Augustine’s University as a freshman in a cohort of fifty biology majors. Her graduating class in 2012 included six in her major. At Florida A&M University, Vincent Gatling matriculated with no more than eight other students throughout his studies as a mathematics major, before earning his degree in 2010. Cole and Gatling are among the scarce number of graduates in the United States with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees, and the even more scarce number of Black STEM graduates. In 2009, Blacks received a mere 7 percent of all STEM bachelor’s degrees, 4 percent of master’s degrees, and 2 percent of Ph.D.s, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. “One of the challenges was there’s not a lot of you,” Gatling says, referring to the small number of students on campus with the same major. “In other majors there were a lot of people who have done it before or who are doing it now, who you can get advice from,” he says. “But being a math major, when I got into my upper level classes, we’re in a room with six or eight people.” “If the nation has a cold when it comes to STEM, minority populations have pneumonia,” says Dr. Fred Bonner, who served as the co-principal investigator on the Gifted Blacks in STEM at Historically Black College and Universities project. The employment crisis among STEM professionals — particularly among African Americas — led Bonner to begin to examine the challenges and successes to earning a STEM degree. He followed two African-American male students — one matriculating at an Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and the other at a Predominately White Institution (PWI) — who successfully navigate careers as chemistry undergraduates. Bonner’s findings concluded that success among African-American STEM majors lies in six factors: relationships with faculty, peer relationships, family influence and support, college choice, institutional environment and self-perception. The research was used as a springboard for the Gifted Blacks in STEM at Historically Black Universities project, a research collaboration of five African-American STEM scholars. “We wanted to look at the factors that impact gifted and talented African-American students who major in STEM at HBCUs,” says Dr. Felicia Nave, co-investigator on the project. The project’s data was collected in two phases. The first phase rendered qualitative data from engineering students at eight different HBCUs who held at least a 3.0 GPA, as well as key HBCU faculty teaching in these respective engineering and technology programs. The second phase gathered quantitative data from STEM faculty at 89 HBCUs across the nation. “By understanding the things that make students successful, universities can use a more data-driven approach to identify the
February 2014
different strategies and programmatic initiatives to support African-American students,” says Nave, who is the associate provost & associate vice president for academic affairs at Prairie View A&M University. Cole found the need for several of the project’s factors to nurture her success at St. Augustine’s. While she chose to study biology out of a natural curiosity of the world through scientific processes, she found that collegiate-level curricula and applications were far more in depth than her youthful curiosity of science. “Biology is very rigorous, it’s not to be taken lightly,” says Cole, who says she almost switched her major to English at least four times. In the project’s report, Faculty Perceptions on the Contributing Factors for Academic Success, the co-investigators cited that African-American students who attend HBCUs enjoy intellectually stimulating environments, more peer interaction as well as more faculty-student contact compared to other African-American students at PWIs. Cole attributes her relentless pursuit to the supportive environment she found at St. Augustine’s, one she says is characteristic of the HBCU experience. She benefited from an open-door policy from all of her professors and collaborative support through study groups with classmates. “I talked to some of my friends who went to bigger schools and predominantly White schools and they all told me it’s so competitive that no one wants to help each other, whereas at my school, we said ‘we’re going to get through this together, we’re all trying to get an ‘A’ and graduate,’” says Cole, who started her professional career as a lab analyst at a pharmaceutical company in Durham, N.C. in October 2013. As a high school mathematics teacher in Lithonia, Georgia, Gatling is grateful that his FAMU education over-prepared him for his career. The most daunting challenge to his success was seeking the most appropriate source of guidance, with very few options. “It’s really important to connect with people who can ground you and can give you a good sense of what it means to major in the sciences —how to get there and stay there,” he says. While at FAMU, Gatling managed to find an upperclassman who acted as a tutor and adviser, one of the factors the project cites as critical to the success of STEM majors. Bonner notes that students interviewed or the project cited the importance of their affiliation with professional organizations, such as the National Society of Black Engineers. It was through NSBE that Ashlee Floyd acquired her first internship as an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. “In engineering, if you do not have any internship experience, you will most likely never be able to find a job,” says Floyd, who
“If the nation has a cold when it comes to STEM, minority populations have pneumonia.” - Dr. Fred Bonner
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HBCU Digest
secured an internship during a NSBE conference with British Petroleum in Texas City, Texas for the summers of 2007 and 2008. “I really love the society because they’re for the same things that my school was founded on — to help young Black engineers get jobs and move up in our culture because we are the minority and it’s harder for us to get those positions,” says Floyd. Although she was afforded a lot of personal support, Floyd’s biggest challenge as an undergrad was financial support. She was unable to receive grant funding or financial assistance because of her mother’s income level. While on paper, her mother’s salary as a nurse appeared sufficient, as a single mother of four children, she did not earn enough to assist Floyd with her tuition. “I saw a lot of other people who couldn’t pay for it,” she recalls. ”I wasn’t at an Ivy League school paying $40,000, I was an out-of-state student paying $20,000 a year and that has affected me even after I graduated.” Floyd finished North Carolina A&T in 2009 is one of over 40 million Americans plagued with student loan debt. However, she is grateful for her career in the US Navy, conducting research and evaluation in non-destructive and shipboard testing. While the retention of African-American students in STEM remains a prominent issue, those who have been successful are
February 2014
professional outliers for people of color. Kanika Tolver, a computer science graduate of Bowie State University, has served in the federal government for the past 13 years and is currently an IT project manager. As an undergraduate, she fought through her most difficult classes in programming because of an understanding of the importance of obtaining this degree. “The challenges and barriers really didn’t get to me that much because I figured that being an African-American woman, it would be a great accomplishment to go into this field,” she says. At 31 years old, Tolver is the youngest member of her team and the only African-American woman. She recently launched Cool Geeks Media, a mash-up of artists and techies to transfer knowledge and learn from the skills of one another. The Prince George’s County, Maryland native believes that with such collaborations in technology, she can make a global impact. “Technology is just not about going to college to get a degree and a high paying job, it’s about using technology to say, what do I believe in and how can I use technology to change a problem in the world.”
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January 2014
H
oward University, one of the nation’s leading research universities, is dedicated to educating students from diverse backgrounds at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. Guided by our extraordinary cadre of faculty, students are immersed in cutting-edge scholarship and innovation, including nanotechnology, human genome research and atmospheric science, as well as the social sciences, arts and humanities on four campuses. Since its inception more than 145 years ago, Howard University has been at the forefront of preparing globally competent students for positions of leadership and social responsibility.
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HBCU Digest
STEM Degrees Pave the
By Donovan X. Ramsey
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s American industry shifts more toward the STEM fields, experts agree that historically Black colleges and universities must move fast or be left behind. Many programs across the country are doing just that and, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, are hoping to put their students ahead of the curve. Eunice Cofie, a graduate of FAMU, says what will further set HBCUs apart as leaders in STEM education is pairing the sciences, technology and math with business to become
hubs for innovative entrepreneurs. Cofie finished at FAMU in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry/ molecular biology and soon went on to make waves in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Today, she is the president and chief cosmetic chemist of Nuekie, a company specializing in research and development of dermatological products for men and women of color. While she always had an entrepreneurial spirit,Cofie says it was a chance connection with a professor at FAMU
that encouraged her to take her studies to the next level. “I was inspired to start Nuekie while I was in undergrad,” Cofie says. “There was a professor who taught my organic chemistry lab and owned his own cosmetic company. He began mentoring me.” Before long, Cofie was engulfed in cosmetic science and research, so much so that the chair of the department allowed her to use that work toward the completion of her degree. When she wasn’t in the lab, Cofie says she was
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busy at FAMU’s small business development center and taking classes in accounting. According to Cofie, her story is rare. In the right place at the right time, she was able to take advantage of a flexible program and resources offered by her university - all under the guidance of a mentor. It’s a synergy between business and STEM education that many HBCUs are working hard to foster. In November, representatives from a handful of HBCUs met on the campus of Stanford University to take www.hbcudigest.com
February 2014
Way to Entrepreneurship part in the United Negro College Fund’s HBCU Innovation Summit. The event was arranged to create a dialog on how to encourage Black students to pursue careers in STEM fields. Stanford officials and professors were also on hand to discuss best practices and how the university has become a leader in entrepreneurial STEM education. “If you look at Harvard and Standard, those schools invest a lot in building the capacity of their technology transfer offices and individual
departments to ensure that students have the resources and connections they need,” says Cofie. “If I could make any recommendations to my alma mater or other HBCUs, it would be to invest in interdisciplinary programs that bridge STEM fields with a practical business education, and give students the resources to develop their ideas and start their businesses,” Cofie says. Projections from the Department of Education suggest that the U.S. will see significant increases in jobs
for computer systems analysts, software developers and medical scientists in coming years. According to a 2008 report from the National Science Foundation, 33 percent of Blacks with PhDs in STEM disciplines received their undergraduate degrees from HBCUs, and 12 of the top 25 institutions whose Black graduates went on to earn Ph.D.s in STEM disciplines were HBCUs. Omar S. Muhammad is the director of the Entrepreneurial Development and Assistance Center at Morgan
State University’s Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. He’s responsible for developing and managing innovative entrepreneurial initiatives at the university and says that his previously industry-oriented program has shifted to offer development help to technology-based businesses. “Whether it’s [developing] software or an application, over the past couple of years, that’s what students have been interested in doing,” Muhammad says. For the past nine years,
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
EDAC has hosted an annual Youth Entrepreneurship Conferentrepreneur in residence.” ence, bringing hundreds of young people from across Maryland An indication of that investment on HBCU campuses in in to Morgan State’s campus for seminars and training in entrethe growing culture of hack-a-thons, a mash-up of tech depreneurship. In recent years, however, the conference has also velopment, networking, and entrepreneurial training where included interactive workshops to expose attendees to financial students across the country collaborate to build mobile and web planning and app development. applications. EDAC’s Youth The HBCUHack Entrepreneurship events, held in the Conference offers Atlanta Universithe kind of educaty Center and at tion tech entrepreMorgan State and neur Russell Ladson Howard universicould have used as ties in 2013, lasted a student at Morefor nearly 24 hours house College. Ladand paired teams of son is the founder students across all and CEO of Drop, a majors with menstart-up that’s curtors to work on their rently developing a apps. All that was mobile app to make required of the studinner reservations, dents was a laptop place orders and pay and an idea. tabs at restaurants. “These events The 24-year-old were significant, graduated from mainly because this Morehouse in 2011 was the first hackand, as many of his a-thon for many of classmates did, went Events like HBCU Hack-A-Thons provide students with crash courses in coding, enabling them to the students,” says directly into a career develop market-ready mobile apps which can vault them into careers in tech development. Hadiyah Mujhid, in corporate Amerco-founder of Black ica. Founders, the group “I never thought I that hosted the would be an enevent. “In addition, trepreneur or the the hack-a-thon was founder-CEO of a promoted to other tech startup,” Ladson majors outside of says. “I saw myself as computer science, a career investment so, for some stubanker, but innovadents, this was their tion and technology first time coding.” were always my Ladson says it will passion. Despite the be innovative efforts security of a welllike the hack-a-thon worn path on Wall and EDAC’s youth Street, I was led to conference that will entrepreneurship by really pursuing what mattered to me most. establish HBCUs as not just in business and STEM education, That meant leaving my job and developing my idea for Drop.” but leaders in creating entrepreneurship and innovation. Ladson says HBCUs could better serve students by encour“If you look at the economic growth, it’s small businesses and aging the risk associated with entrepreneurship and exposing innovation that are driving it and HBCUs have to put themstudents to start-up culture. selves at the heart of it,” he says. “Now is the moment for Black “For a business major, that may mean forgoing a summer on colleges and universities to reposition themselves. With so Wall Street and instead working with your classmates on the much attention surrounding the financial conditions of these idea that’s been in your head since freshman year,” he says. “For institutions and their relevancy, this is a chance for HBCUs the school, it could mean several things. Host an innovation to say, ‘Yes, the company that was publicized on the cover of boot camp or a summer start-up accelerator. Provide earlyEntrepreneur or homepage of TechCrunch was started by an stage funding for student-run companies and, maybe, have an alumnus.’” 14
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
Girl Power Johnson C. Smith University excels in attracting female students to the sciences By Mirasha Brown
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HBCU Digest
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TEM disciplines make up many of the fastest-growing markets in the world. STEM — which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics — houses some of the most challenging and esteemed careers. Although the STEM field is a booming industry, it is heavily dominated by males. A report by the United States Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration revealed that women hold fewer than 25 percent of jobs in the STEM field. The report also stated that women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, especially in the engineering field. But at Johnson C. Smith University, located in Charlotte, N.C., women make up half of the student body at the JCSU STEM College. The STEM College offers degrees in computer engineering, information systems and engineering and has been nationally-ranked in the top one percentile in graduating African-Americans in computer science and information systems for the past seven years. Over the course of five years, enrollment at the STEM College has increased exponentially. There are approximately 260 students in the college and 50 percent of those students are women. LaTondra Morrow, a sophomore biology major, says she is updated daily by faculty regarding opportunities for African-American women needed in the STEM field. “I think it’s very important for African-American women to major in STEM fields,” she says. “It isn’t about one race. There aren’t a lot of women in the STEM program; the more women who decide to major in a STEM field, the more diverse this industry will become.” Part of the school’s success is attributable to a concerted effort made by faculty and staff to recruit female students. Administrators at the university are actively brainstorming ways to attract African-American women to STEM fields. University administrators realize that increasing opportunities for women in these fields is a vital step to realizing economic and social success for women. Jennifer Gaskins, the assistant director of communications and marketing at JCSU, says the best way to market to students is
by telling a story. “The primary tool we use in the communications department is storytelling; we want students and faculty to share their experiences [with] prospective students for recruitment and media purposes,” says Gaskins. “We’ve done grand openings for our science center; we pride the fact that we have a great STEM program at JCSU. We create collateral material and use social media to get attention.” Scholarships and financial aid play a major factor in the recruitment process. The reduction of federal grant and loan availability, coupled with the rising costs of tuition, room and board and college-related costs, makes it difficult for some students. Building Capacity To encourage enrollment in these fields at JCSU, students majoring in STEM fields are often offered special scholarship opportunities over students who opt to major in a non-science field. Dr. Magdy Attia, founding dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, says there are plenty of scholarship opportunities for students hoping to enroll in the program. “We have special scholarships for students majoring in STEM fields. The Duke Endowment is one of our prestigious scholarship donors,” Attia says. “We even offer specific scholarships for females in technology. We try to accommodate our students as much as we possibly can. There is a shortage of of women in the STEM industry, especially minority women.” Recently, the JCSU STEM College has partnered with the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and was awarded the National Science Foundation Cyber Corp. Scholarship for Service Grant. JCSU will receive $339,189 for the five-year grant and will provide support for students who are studying in the field of cyber-security, which will enable the school to boast another offering to potential students. Another selling point the STEM College uses for recruitment and retention purposes is the partnerships the college
February 2014
has built with major corporations. Last October, the Duke Endowment donated $25 million toward the construction of the Science Center, a 62,000 square-foot facility that will enable the College of STEM to increase enrollment and create an optimal learning environment for students and faculty. The new science center will be home to four STEM innovation centers, which will provide STEM faculty “market-driven retooling opportunities” in pedagogy and/or discipline specific professional development. Dr. Hang Chen, assistant professor and chair of the department of computer science and engineering, described the business relationships the school has with major corporations for job placement. Chen also serves as the coordinator of the computer science and engineering activities of the National Science Foundation HBCU Undergraduate Program. The STEM College prepares students for internships and fellowships; students receive emails daily about specific opportunities during the semester. Providing Support “We have had some of our students work for Microsoft, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and the FBI. We also have students start their own companies and consulting firms,” says Chen. “We try to provide a wide variety of jobs for our students. We even tailor jobs to fit the needs of a student. If a company wants to hire an African-American woman, we will recommend some of our best for the job.” Jheanelle Linton, a sophomore engineering major, says her professors have prepared her extremely well for internships and life post-graduation. Linton plans to attend graduate school to conduct research on embedding systems and creating integrated circuits. “There are a variety of jobs I’ve learned to do while enrolled at the university; it’s not just science-related, it goes beyond the classroom,” says Linton. “I’ve learned managerial skills, interpersonal skills, and professionalism, I’ve been learning these things since I was a freshman.”
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
At Johnson C. Smith, special scholarships have been established to attract female students to the sciences. Efforts have paid off; women comprise over 50 percent of the STEM College population.
“There are number of invaluable resources I’ve found on campus,” Linton says. “My professors helped me get through my classes and have helped me grow. As a Jamaican woman, it gives me pride knowing that I’m one of the few who is stepping into the STEM world and I’m prepared to handle whatever is thrown my way.” “Igniting Potential: Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics” was a study conducted by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) in 2005 that provided an outline for best practices for HBCU STEM programs. The study focused on strong advisement, meaningful research experiences and internships and hospitable campus climates and caring learning environments. Chen describes JCSU as having “a history of providing a nurturing campus climate and a caring learning community.” Kimberley McFadden, a junior information systems engineering student, recounts her experience at JCSU as
enjoyable and satisfying. McFadden is a member of JCSU’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and the NSF STARS Alliance program. “I have a lot of support from professors and faculty in the STEM College,” says McFadden. “The new technology is amazing, I’m satisfied with the tools the college has provided us. We have smart classrooms and even a cyber-security lab and a robotics lab. The STEM College went above and beyond to accommodate our learning needs. Our professors are very supportive and give us the necessary tools needed to succeed.” Chen also mentions that undergraduate research at most HBCUs is largely a co-curricular initiative that is restricted to an academically select group of students working outside the credit-bearing curriculum. “We have transformed the curriculum from traditional to market-driven to satisfy the needs of the evolving job market and our facilities. We had to change our curriculum to make it more interactive and more realistic to the real world,”
says Attia. Chen says, “JCSU has established an innovative model for infusing research into the market-driven innovative STEM curriculum at all levels in order to integrate the teaching and research mission of the university, as well as reconciling research with the liberal arts traditions and aspirations that lie at the core of our undergraduate program.” Kaila Duarte, a freshman biology major, says she doesn’t feel different as an African-American woman in the male-dominated STEM field. She plans to return to school after graduation to become a physical therapist. “My classmates and I get along very well and we do a great job at helping each other succeed,” says Duarte. “I will say that it’s a privilege being in this position because there are only a handful of women working in the STEM field, and there are even fewer African-American women working in this field. It just makes me want to work even harder to achieve my goals.”
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Fisk University Will Nurture Your OUTREACH: Fisk University Community Alliance (FUCA)
The T.H.R.U.S.T. and G.U.S.T.O. programs are Fisk University Community Alliance (FUCA) endeavors concerned with providing enriching activities that expose students to and prepare them for careers in math and science disciplines. Both programs are Fisk University Community Alliance (FUCA) endeavors concerned with providing enriching activities that expose students from economically challenged, under-represented, or undeserved population in our schools by exposing them to and preparing them for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM). T.H.R.U.S.T.: To Harness, Retain, Understand, Sustain, and Teach is an eight-week Math & Science Summer Enrichment program for boys offering applied ”hands-on” learning experiences which incorporates a deep relationship with a college environment. In addition to developing skills in applied mathematics and science, communications, tools for success, recreation, financial management, and project engineering swimming, field trips, basketball camp, guest speakers, current events, math-boost, smart-start, debate, pre-engineering, summer reading book talks and journal notes. G.U.S.T.O.: Girls Using Scientific Tools for Opportunities in STEM is a cooperative program venture between Fisk University Community Alliance. The program allows females between the ages of 9 and 15 the opportunity to be mentored by female scientists while receiving academic enrichment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). GUSTO was modelled after and is the sister program to the THRUST Program for boys. Contact Information: fuca@fisk.edu TEAMWORK & SERVICE: Fisk Altitude Achievement Missile Team (FAAMT) Teamwork and Service are two of the values at Fisk University, which are best exemplified by the Fisk Altitude Achievement Missile Team (F.A.A.M.T.) . Confronting the effects of stereo-
type threats, this unique program in Nashville, Tennessee was created to compete in the NASA-sponsored University Student Launch Initiative (USLI), but has grown into so much more. Established in 2006, as the first rocket program at an HBCU, FAAMT won top placements at regional competitions and one of the team members, Leah Randle, become the first African-American female to receive her Level I and Level II rocket certification from the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). FAAMT is a program that positively impacts the inner-city middle and high school youth in Metro public schools in areas of Astronomy, Rocketry, and Robotics, while also positively impacting the Fisk University Rocket Team students. Over the course of a semester the Rocket Team collectively delivers 500 service learning hours to the Metro public schools or engagements in community churches, public events and rallies. More information and contact: http://www.fisk.edu/campus-life/fisk-altitude-achievement-missile-team-faamt; and bwallace@fisk.edu
MINORITY ACCESS TO RESEARCH CAREERS (MARC): Biomedical Sciences Fisk University hosts a National Institutes of Health-funded Minority Access to Research Careers Undergraduate (MARC U*STAR) program. The overarching goal of Fisk University’s MARC U*STAR program is to develop undergraduate students currently underrepresented in the biomedical sciences for successful application to and graduation from highly selective Ph.D. biomedical training programs, aligning fully with Fisk’s mission to produce “graduates from diverse backgrounds with the integrity and intellect required for substantive contributions to society.” Students identify their interest in biomedical research, and later training as a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D., as early as the first semester of their freshman year, and in doing so, begin participation in pre-MARC program activities, including professional skill development activities, career roundtables, and meetings with nationally recognized biomedical scientists who are guest speakers at Fisk’s monthly Cool Science Café. Pre-MARC and MARC scholars engage in academic year and summer biomed-
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Motivation to Obtain the Resources and Skills ical research, both at Fisk University and nationally, including with scientists in formal partnerships with Fisk University at the University of Michigan; Michigan State; University of California, San Diego; University of California, Davis; University of Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt University, among others. Students may apply in the spring of their sophomore year for MARC Scholar funding, which provides partial support for 24 continuous months of tuition and provides a stipend to permit continued research engagement during the academic year and summers. MARC (and pre-MARC) Scholars share their research findings at national meetings of biomedical scientists in their research area, as well as at the national meeting of minority biomedical scientists, ABRCMS. The Fisk University MARC U*STAR program partners with the MARC program at Tennessee State University, and minority undergraduate and graduate programs at Fisk and Vanderbilt Universities to provide Fisk students with a large cohort of peers and role models similarly interested in a career that contributes to better human health through research. Contact: llimbird@fisk.edu DIVERSITY FOR ADVANCED DEGREES IN STEM AND
PROFESSORIATE: The Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s to Ph.D. Bridge Program (FV Bridge) This successful mentoring program was founded in 2004, beginning modestly with only a few students in astronomy and physics. A recent article published in the December 2013 issue of Nature-CAREERS recognizes the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’sto-Ph.D. Bridge program as a U.S. model of a partnership between an HBCU and a prestigious national research university in broadening the participation of African-Americans, women, and other minorities who are underrepresented in STEM, to earn their Ph.D.s and prepare them for successful careers. To date, the program has grown, having enrolled 67 stu-
dents and now offering additional academic tracks in biology, chemistry and materials science. As of 2006, Fisk has achieved the distinction of being the top producer of African-American who earned master’s degrees in Physics, while Vanderbilt is the leading producer of minority Ph.D.s in Astronomy, Physics and Materials Science. Our overall program retention rate is 92% and our retention to the Ph.D. is 80%. Hundred percent of our PhD graduates obtained and accepted an employment offer in academia, national labs or industry just before graduation. Special STEM scholarships are available for talented and motivated undergraduates interested in the pre-Bridge track. More information: www.fisk.edu/bridge and aburger@fisk.edu RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT: International Award Fisk University has won its 4th R&D 100 Award for a scientific discovery by the Fisk group and collaborators at Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The 2013 R&D 100 Banquet & Awards Presentation took place on Nov. 7, 2013, at the Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld and Mr. Brenden Wiggins (right) was one of the four representatives of the team who helped develop the winning innovation titled, “LISe™: A High-Efficiency Thermal Neutron Detector.”Fisk’s role in this innovative project is the growth and optimization of lithium indium diselenide (or LISe) crystals, which was also the topic of Brenden’s master’s thesis. This is a great accomplishment and highlights the excellent research of the Materials Science and Applications Group (MSAG), founded and led by Dr. Arnold Burger, at Fisk University. Brenden is now a doctoral student in the Fisk/Vanderbilt master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge program and a coop at Y-12, will continue to perform parts of his Ph.D. thesis research at Fisk/MSAG. Contact: aburger@fisk.edu
HBCU Digest
January 2014
Access Granted Two-year HBCUs prepare students for STEM careers By Brittany Sommerville
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ccording to a recent study from the Brookings Institution, 20 percent of all U.S. jobs require an extensive understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Half of all STEM jobs are accessible to workers who don’t hold a four-year college degree, with automotive technicians, electricians, computer system analysts and machinists among the most popular occupations. While some associate’s degrees prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions, a number of associate’s degrees, specialized diplomas and certificate programs offered at community colleges, prepare students to enter the workforce immediately after graduation. A recent Georgetown University study says that STEM professionals with associate’s degrees out-earn 63 percent of those with bachelor’s degrees in other fields. Ronald Davis, Chairman Division of Information Systems
at Bishop State Community College, agrees that community colleges can be just as effective getting students into careers. “If you have a program that is more aptitude in its career field and if the core of the curriculum is more an applied science, then the two-year college is a lot more flexible,” Davis says. “It can pile a lot more learning on a student and more variety. A student is able to just focus on that level.” In an interview with USA Today, Jonathan Rothwell, associate fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the “Hidden STEM Economy” report says, “these workers have longer periods of on-the-job training” than various occupations requiring a four-year college degree. Nearly three million workers without bachelor’s degrees have associate’s degrees or less and earn an average annual salary of $53,000; 10 percent higher than non-STEM jobs with similar educational requirements.”
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According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, more than one out of every ten American workers report a certificate as their highest level of education. The center acknowledges, on average, certificate holders earn 20 percent more than high school graduates without any postsecondary education. Davis says that if students can get certified in a “given area or chosen endeavor, they have a better chance of landing a position.” Roughly 850,000 people earned associate’s degrees in 2010, with 30 percent of those graduates enrolled in STEM programs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Shanelle Frazier, who graduated from Coahoma Community College with an Associate of Arts in Computer Science, says her degree prepared her for her educational future and career. “No matter what I chose to do after CCC, the sky was the limit.” Frazier says. Frazier now serves as the Distance Learning/Dual Enrollment Coordinator at CCC. “In today’s market, it is hard for anyone with just an associate’s degree in an academic program to get a job,” she says. “But it is possible. More than likely, it will be an entry-level paying job.” Alvin Ward II, also a graduate of Coahoma Community College, earned his associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems. “Two-year degrees can definitely be vehicles of career preparation,” Ward says. “The two-year degree has been severely overlooked when it comes to the topic of career advancement. Most community colleges have programs that will allow students and graduates to gain certifications in specific areas of study, which are great ways to advance career wise. Also, many students acquire two-year degrees as a requirement for their current jobs, and have no intention of furthering their education.” Although two-year degrees have proven that community colleges are able to successfully prepare students who are able to succeed without continuing their education, bright futures aren’t guaranteed for all students. “Eighty-five to 95 percent of students that enroll in community college have to go to some sort of developmental education because they’ve graduated high school without being able to add/ subtract or even build a complete sentence,” Davis says. “We, as community colleges, mainly get students who haven’t applied themselves,” he continues. “Our students have to be developed. We have to get them to the level to teach them and then teach them the knowledge that we’re trying to instill in them. We only have two years ... to try to get them prepared and also get them into their major field of study. Sometimes we can have them prepared and sometimes we can’t.” Davis continues, “In most cases, when businesses look at managerial and corporate positions, they look for skills, knowledge, and at least, a baccalaureate degree.” “In the same token, when you have people with longevity in organizations, a lot of times, when you come in at the bottom and work your way through alongside top management, they will see their performance,” Davis says. She adds, “The best strategy for [getting a top job] would be to get an internship, even if it is unpaid, because the experience that an individual would gain would be well worth it.”
February 2014
Top Earning STEM Careers Requiring Only an Associate’s Degree Air traffic controller Median annual pay: $113,547 Radiation therapist Median annual pay: $76,627 Dental hygienist Median annual pay: $70,408 Nuclear medicine technologist Median annual pay: $69,638 Nuclear technician Median annual pay: $68,037 Nurse Median annual pay: $65,853 Diagnostic medical sonographer Median annual pay: $65,499 Fashion Designer Median annual pay: $63,170 Aerospace engineering and operations technician Median annual pay: $61,547 Engineering technician (except drafters) Median annual pay: $58,698
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Celebrating Excellence
HBCU Digest
February 2014
A round-table of top STEM students
By Elizabeth Montgomery
Jonathan McCoy A native of Chesapeake, Va., Morgan State University graduate student Jonathan McCoy is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Traffic Engineering. Q: What sets you apart from other students in STEM? A: Attending Morgan State University and being a graduate of the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering, I became the first student to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Transportation Systems. This one-of-a-kind undergraduate program launched in 2009 and is currently only offered at Morgan State University under the Transportation & Urban Infrastructure Studies Department. This unique program has exposed me to major transportation areas such as, planning, engineering, economics, management, and logistics. With the completion of this program, I am able to handle the demands of entry and mid-level professional positions within the transportation industry. I chose to stay and earn master’s from the same institution, because over my undergraduate years I formed strong relationships with the transportation department faculty and staff. I also was presented and awarded with scholarships, fellowships, and a graduate research position through the transportation department at Morgan State University. This program has also given me the opportunity to concentrate on not only traffic engineering, but other aspects of engineering through graduate civil engineering courses. Q: What has been the biggest challenge of studying transportation engineering, and how did you overcome it? A: The biggest challenge of studying STEM occurred during the fall 2008 semester, where I began to struggle academically to maintain a 17 credit semester that included Calculus I, Chemistry for Engineers, and Object Oriented Programming for Engineers (C++). My struggles continued throughout the semester, even though I was meeting with a weekly tutor and constantly studying with friends. At the end of the semester, my long
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
hours of studying, tutoring sessions, and help from friends proved unsuccessful as my semester GPA was barely a 2.0. I was devastated and did not know how I was going to finish college, but Dr. Reginald Amory in the Department Chair for Civil Engineering noticed my struggles and advised my mother and me to speak to Dr. Anthony Saka, the Department Chair for Transportation, about the new undergraduate transportation program. This new program gave me a fresh start and I took full advantage of this rare opportunity. I excelled throughout the program and became the very first graduate of this program. Switching my program was the best decision I could have made and was ultimately the reason I graduated from Morgan State. Q: What are some of your achievements personally and academically? A: I made the Dean’s List for four consecutive semesters from the fall of 2010 until the spring of 2012. I made the Clarence M. Mitchell Engineering Achievement List four consecutive years from 2009 until 2012. Being the first recipient of the Transportation Systems degree, I earned the Key to the Department Award and the Academic Achievement Award. While in the undergraduate program, I earned a National Transportation Center Grant from 2010-2012. Upon graduating, I earned a fellowship from the Mid Atlantic University Transportation Center in 2012 and a Dwight D. Eisenhower Fellowship in 2013. At the beginning of the fall 2013 semester, I became a graduate research assistant under Dr. Celeste Chavis working on a transportation related project entitled the “Integration of Multimodal Transportation Services.” This assistantship allowed me to work on a transportation related project that will improve how different public transportation modes work together. Q: What do you hope to do with a Transportation Engineering degree? A: I hope to one day become the Secretary of Transportation for Maryland, that will allow me to reduce congestion, improve public transportation, and maintain the state of Maryland’s transportation infrastructures by continuing to implement technology and integrating transportation systems. I chose engineering because I was always interested in learning about how subway systems are operated, maintained, and handle the daily demand of users especially in largely populated cities throughout the United States. Also, with the potential emergence of high speed rail in the United States, I hope to be able to contribute to the possible success of such a transportation system.”
Amber Tramel A Senior Mathematics major from Dallas, Texas, Tramel currently attends Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Q: What was your path to Dillard University? A: Originally I wanted to come to Dillard because my oldest sister was a Dillard alumnus, but after research I knew I wanted to go to an institution in New Orleans because of the culture. Dillard also has a rich tradition of molding minds that have made tremendous strides in African-American history. I’m a competitor by nature and I hate when anything gets the best of me, and as I got older, I realized the shortage of women in engineering. I love building things and drawing so I was not about to let something like math get in the way of my goal. I got with a professor at school and he worked with me to the point I loved math. My passion is really art, but I make the two correlate. Q: What has been the biggest Challenge for you while studying a STEM program? A: My biggest challenge being a STEM major was being an athlete and being a math major. Before college, math was one I my worst subjects, but I loved trying to understand the subject. Along with being a basketball player it was hard because I would miss days at a time because we would be on the road or my early classes I would come in tired from 5am practices, but adjusting took time management. I knew in my www.hbcudigest.com
HBCU Digest
February 2014
heart I wanted to grasp the concept so badly, it became a desire; so I just did it. I literally had to count every minute of my day as time that could not be wasted. I couldn’t take naps like I love to do because I would either be in practice or in class. Q: What are your greatest achievements thus far at Dillard? A: Academically I grew in that my first semester in college I had a 2.8 barely made the cut to stay active in my organizations & athletics. I had never seen below a 3.3 before so I took my classes more seriously and applied them more to my life and now I have a 3.4. I grew as a leader by growing more spiritually and getting my academics together. After I saw the my peers looked to me as a “if she can do it, so can I” figure, I always made sure to be on my P’s and Q’s and let go of doing for me, everything was for those people who thought they couldn’t do something. During my tenure at Dillard I have been Freshperson Class Treasurer, Sophomore Class Vice President, Miss Junior and now I serve as the 75th Miss Dillard University. I am a part of the Samuel DeBois Honors College, Beta Kappa Chi Natural Sciences Honor Society, National Institute of Science, Spring 2013 initiate of the Beta Delta Chapter of Phi Gamma Nu Professional Business Fraternity, Fall 2013 initiate of the Beta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. I was the 2011-2012 Athlete of the Year, 2011-current Champions of Character Athlete, GCAC All-Academic Conference, GCAC Conference Champion 2012. I’ve grown academically, spiritually and into a better leader.
Kia Byrd Currently a senior biology major at Howard University. Q: How did you decide on Howard University? A: I attended high school at a predominantly White institution with African-American students comprising less than five percent of the student population. I knew that I wanted a different experience for college—an experience that would not only allow me the opportunity to contribute to the intellectual genealogy of Black thought at the Mecca, but also the opportunity to interact with members of the African Diaspora from all over the globe. I was sold on HU, and the full-ride Laureate scholarship that Howard offered me was simply icing on the cake. Somehow, I always expected that I would be a Bison. Q: What sets you apart from other students in STEM programs? A: STEM students often have a bad reputation for focusing on very specific issues or indulging in highly specialized areas of medicine or science—often to the point where several STEM students lose focus of the broader perspective that integrates science and society. I’m fortunate that I have exceptional mentors that have always directed my attention towards the application of science on a global scale. An aspiring physician, I strive to apply what I do in science to the context of medicine, public health, advocacy, and research. As a student at Howard, I am constantly seeking ways to apply what I learn in the classroom to the issues that plague my community. In my opinion, students in STEM should never look at what they study as disconnected from the concerns of the general public. Q: What are some of your top achievements? A: I was recently accepted to medical school and will begin my first year as an M1 in August 2014. During the summer of 2013, I was awarded a Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) Fellowship from the Harvard School of Public Health, through which I had the opportunity to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to conduct population-based research on 24
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February 2014
psychiatric disorders among the Ethiopian college population. I have presented my research at national conferences such as the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students and the New England Science Symposium. Through a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, I am currently conducting studies on malaria and examining the biological mechanisms through which the parasite enters human red blood cells. I haven’t decided where I’ll be attending medical school yet, but so far I’m holding acceptances at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and I have been offered a full tuition scholarship to attend Tulane University School of Medicine. I’m still awaiting decisions from Harvard, Duke, and Stanford.
Marcus Jean Haitian-born Jean is currently in his third year at the Howard University College of Dentisrty. Q: What was your path to Howard? Why did you choose dentistry? A: I was born to Haitian parents in Boston, MA. Shortly after being born, I went to Haiti where I lived for the next 10 years. I came back to the US after my parents decided it was time for me to continue my education in the states. Howard caught my attention, because of its rich history producing many bright leaders of our community and in the world in general. Being the fifth oldest dental school in the country, HUCD has a very large networking base, especially among the minority population. Before the age of 10, I was exposed to both dentistry and medicine. My sister was going to med school around that time and my cousin was in dental school. I became quite intrigued with the dental instruments that my cousin would bring home with him and with the things he would teach me. And I would say that was my first exposure to dentistry and where my interest in dentistry began. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Florida, where I received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Q: What are you goals after graduation? A: After graduating from dental school in 2015, I plan on doing a General Practice Residency. I have not completely narrowed down where I would like to do my residency. But as of now, I’m looking at New Jersey as a possible option, along with Maryland. I want to own a practice in the notso-distant future. I plan on using dentistry as platform and a springboard to bring positivity and in whatever community I end up settling in. Q: What are some of your greatest achievements in Howard’s dentistry program? A: I’ve been able to participate in 2 mission trips thus far, both to Haiti. Being able to give back to your community and your roots is something that I hold dear to me. Those two mission trips have helped me to learn a lot about myself and about the world while I was able to provide some much needed services to a community which would not have gotten it otherwise. On my first trip, I went with a group of medical students and physicians and I assisted the medical students as they provided relief to patients with illnesses ranging from hypertension to cancer. During my second, I was able to provide dental care to patients in a rural area. Most of them never had access to the dentist until our team went in that area. Those two experiences proved really touching for me, and that’s something I look forward to continuing in the future. www.hbcudigest.com
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HBCU Digest
February 2014
Joshua Gopeesingh A senior chemical engineering major currently attending Hampton University and native of Trinidad; Gopeesingh was named a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship in November 2013. Q: Why did you choose Hampton University? A: I’ve always enjoyed sciences in school growing up, so it only felt natural to have an interest in a STEM major. Besides the great education, Hampton’s environment captivated me. Coming from an island, I knew that I wanted to be close to the ocean; Hampton is surrounded by water on three sides. Whenever I interact with the ocean, I feel a sense of connection with Trinidad & Tobago; it is as if the exact water I sail on at Hampton is the same as that back home. Q: What has been the biggest challenge of studying STEM and how did you overcome it? A: My time was divided a lot between sailing and academics, sometimes I would have to sacrifice some hours or sleep in order to stay up so that an assignment could be finished or a topic could be better understood. Another challenge was being far away from home, disconnected from family and friends; I’ve had to mature since I could not run home whenever I was a having a rough time. But these sacrifices have reaped great achievements. Q: What are you goals after graduate school? A: After attending graduate school for my Ph.D., I hope to return to Trinidad & Tobago so that I can work in the government in the energy sector. I intend to implement policies to increase the use of alternative energy, so that the country can depend less on fossil fuels.
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January 2014
I Will Make the World a Safer Place.
Gema, Computer Technology A self-described undercover geek and aspiring cyber sleuth, Gema found her calling in computer technology at Bowie State University. Now, she’s empowered to turn her passion into a profession that will take her from undercover geek to undercover agent! What’s your passion?
Find Strength. Take Pride.
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#findstrengthtakepride | bowiestate.edu/takepride
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