This award to Wilkes University is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Wilkes University will establish an Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program to increase the number of under-represented minority students who pursue graduate studies in the biological sciences. A cohort consisting of four students will be recruited each year in the first four years of the grant, and NSF funds will be used to support each undergraduate participant for a total of two calendar years. Over the 5-year period of the grant, a total of sixteen students will participate in the program. Participants will enter the program in the summer following their sophomore year, when they join teams of undergraduates working on year-round research projects mentored by one of eight participating faculty. These projects are directly tied to the mentor's primary interests, which range from invertebrate development and animal behavior to ecology and plant genomics. Participants will also follow individualized curricula designed to foster success in graduate school, including courses emphasizing oral and written communication skills, interpretation and analysis of the primary literature, experimental design and data analyses, and preparation for graduate record exam (GRE). In addition, the Department of Biology will collaborate with the university's Center for Global Education and Diversity to provide academic and co-curricular mentoring specifically tailored to help under-represented groups successfully enter graduate research programs. This will include visits from minority scientists, visits to research institutions, social functions and other activities related to enhancing students' acceptance into a field with few role models. Participants will be selected out of a pool of minority students recruited from Wilkes and nearby community colleges, based on academic performance, interviews, recommendations and interest in graduate research. More information is available by contacting the Program Director, Dr. William Terzaghi, at william.terzaghi@wilkes.edu, or by visiting the program website at http://wilkes.edu/urm.
