AGEP PROJECT PROFILE INFORMATION:

THE CENTRAL NEW YORK – PUERTO RICO ALLIANCE

PI: Vice Chancellor and Provost Deborah A. Freund PI CONTACT INFORMATION: Suzanne Barch smbarch@syr.edu (315)443-2494	Program Coordinator / Director: Dean John Mercer CONTACT INFORMATION: Kristen Farrell kday@syr.edu (315)443-4142
Preferred day-to-day contact person: Kristen Farrell kday@syr.edu (315)443-4142	Primary Partners: Syracuse University, Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

Disciplines / departments:

· Biological Statistics and Computational Biology

· Mechanical Engineering

· Aerospace Engineering

· Applied Mathematics and Mathematics

· Civil and Environmental Engineering

· Chemical Engineering

· Marine Sciences

· Animal Industry

Website address: http://gradsch.syr.edu

Impact nugget:

The Central New York to Puerto Rico Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate began working in 2002 to develop and implement innovative models for recruiting, mentoring, and retaining minority students in science, mathematics, and engineering doctoral programs at the four partner institutions. In February of 2003 the Alliance hosted its first Graduate School Fair in Mayaguez for more than 160 students. The Fair featured educational and motivational talks by invited speakers, a keynote address and information about opportunities for graduate school. A second recruitment fair was held also in Mayaguez in Fall 2003 for 50-60 students. In January of 2004 17 students and 14 faculty mentors and directors gathered in San Juan for the first AGEP Fellows – Faculty Mentors Workshop. As a means of promoting collaboration among the Alliance institutions the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez has created a visiting faculty fellowship. Each of the past two spring semesters a faculty member from RPI has been awarded the position. Summer faculty programs have also been created, with a UPRM faculty member going to RPI last summer. This program has enabled the completion of two conference papers and a funded research program. At Cornell University, a new associate dean of diversity position has been created in the college of engineering. Cornell has also implemented a plan to provide financial support for all underrepresented minority MS/PhD students for their first two years of study.

In its second year, the Alliance now has 21 faculty mentors and 18 AGEP fellows across the four partner institutions. AGEP mentors have also worked to develop international student exchange relationships, which have resulted in one AGEP fellow presently in Sweden and a second going to Australia next year.

Statement:

The objective of the CNY – PR Alliance are to provide inter-institutional research experiences to undergraduates and graduate students, review and recommend fair admission criteria, recruit and retain excellent minority students, provide multi-year funding to minority graduate students, expand existing professoriate and mentor training programs to alliance institutions, and foster inter-alliance student and faculty mentor exchanges.