Allegheny College requests $332,736 from the National Science Foundation to support a program to encourage minority students to enroll at Allegheny and to pursue a degree in the natural sciences or mathematics. Allegheny is a private undergraduate liberal arts institution with an enrollment of 1750 men and women students. Located in the extreme northwestern corner of Pennsylvania, Allegheny enrolls students primarily from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. Allegheny has established a reputation for being the best liberal arts college in the region and is also well-known for its exceptionally strong science and mathematics departments. Each year, from 25 to 30% of our students graduate with degrees in the natural sciences and mathematics. When Behavioral Science is added to this total, the percentage increases to 37. To capitalize on this traditional strength and to increase the percentage of minority students on this campus, Allegheny is proposing a program that will increase the likelihood of these students pursuing a degree in the sciences and, eventually, scientific careers. Through a four-year, multi- disciplinary program, Allegheny will provide students (up to eight a year) with the attention to their academic and study skills, career goals, and scientific research skills that will ensure their success in the sciences. Students' research skills will be developed through a faculty mentoring relationship. Each student will be paired with a faculty mentor in his area of scientific interest and together they will work on research that will culminate in the requires Senior Comprehensive Project. Working collaboratively, many of these students will produce work that they can present at national conferences or that can be published. Our science faculty's history of such joint presentations and publications and publications demonstrates that high-quality projects can be achieved through "apprenticeships." Mr. John C. Reynders will director our "Research Careers for Minority Students" program Mr. Reynders is special assistant to the provost and director of the Educational Enhancement Program at Allegheny. He will work with a group of at least eight faculty mentors, chosen from all of the science and mathematics departments. Faculty and administrators will report regularly to Provost Andrew T. Ford. Provost Ford fully supports implementing this special program. At the end of the proposed five-year cycle for this program, the provost and the president of the College, Dr. Daniel F. Sullivan, will decide whether to continue our program.
