The organizers will convene a 2013 Leaders' Forum for NSF-TCUP PIs and PDs. TCUP leaders will collaboratively develop strategies to enhance their projects to include an emphasis on research capacity-building. During the two-day workshop, participants will immerse in formal sessions during which they will share and explore innovative best practices to STEM research, instruction, and evaluation under the theme "Broadening Participation Research: Focus on Tribal Colleges." In addition, participants will discuss workforce challenges, opportunities, and the economic impact of TCUP on the tribal communities served.
Intellectual Merit : The proposed workshop is a critical resource for tribal colleges that are attempting to build research capacity and to increase the number of American Indian students enrolling in, and completing, STEM degrees. NSF-TCUP projects have been instrumental to tribal colleges' capacity to develop and offer increased STEM instruction and student support since 2001. Some tribal colleges are emerging as research institutions, with many more positioned to offer opportunities for research in the near future. The workshop organizers have extensive experience with TCUP faculty, students, and administrators. The workshop agenda will be finalized in consultation with a peer committee, and will include strategies for conducting research independently or in collaboration with neighboring colleges and universities, including other TCUP institutions. Broader Impacts : The 2013 Leaders' Forum will contribute to the knowledge of tribal colleges by making them aware of the potential benefits to their constituents and to the larger research community. Research originating from tribal colleges has the potential to make contributions to expand knowledge about American Indians and their homelands.The long-term impact will be tribe specific research and the development of highly qualified American Indian researchers for the US workforce. Successful projects with achievable and measurable outcomes will help move tribal colleges to the next level of institutional effectiveness and toward greater participation in American Higher Education.
