Hampton University and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) propose renewed funding for a program to increase the numbers of under-represented minorities electing careers in aquatic sciences. The program targets minority students, faculty and professionals interested in aquatic sciences, as well as faculty working at Historically Minority Colleges and Universities (HMCU). Participants received a free membership in ASLO and support to attend the annual meetings and special pre-meeting workshops. The present proposal will cultivate the development of past participants and incorporate new cohorts of students into the process.
Since the initiation of the program in 1990, over 456 students and 25 mentors have participated in the program. The funding requested in this proposal would continue the project for an additional five years (2005-2009). About 42% of the students who attend one ASLO meeting return for subsequent meeting. Perhaps most significantly, the number of graduate students participating in the program has increased to 25% in 2003. Many of these graduate students participated in the program as undergraduates. Many (70%) of the participants are female in recent years, reflecting a national trend of declining enrollment of male minority students in colleges.
Students from more than 127 different institutions have participated, with 25 different colleges and universities in the 2003 program alone. Dr. Cuker received a 1999 PEW Fellowship based on this work, and he has received funding via the Geoscience Diversity program to support a graduate student fellowship program at Hampton, VIMS and Old Dominion Universities from 2003-2008.
