This application is a competing continuation application for the existing Bridges to the Baccalaureate Degree Program (RFA: GM 98-001) at Clarkson University (CU), Potsdam, New York. The program proposes to continue serving African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students at five community college sites that enroll a relatively large number of minority students (henceforth referred to as students) from urban areas. The five community colleges include Monroe Community College (MCC), Rochester, NY; Jefferson Community College (JCC), Watertown, NY; Housatonic Community Technical College (HCC), Bridgeport, CT; and Canton College of Technology (CCT), Canton, NY; Bronx Community College (BCC), Bronx, NY. The majority of students from these institutions who transfer to a four-year bachelor degree (B.S.) program at Clarkson University enter engineering, business, or liberal studies disciplines. Very few students are exposed to, or are aware of, career opportunities in biomedical related sciences prior to transferring; consequently, they choose alternative career options. This program seeks to develop programs that have, and will continue, to introduce students at these five community colleges to B.S. Degree career opportunities in the biomedical sciences at a time when students choose their career options. This will be achieved via the following goals and activities: (1) To conduct an academic year program to identify, recruit, select and encourage up to 50 under-represented students from the five target community colleges, to pursue baccalaureate degrees, research and career opportunities in bio-medical disciplines; (2) To select and invite 25 competing students to a three-day orientation program in April of each year at Clarkson University that will introduce the students to potential faculty research mentors, the campus environment, research facilities, campus support groups, classroom and laboratory experiences, and academic advisement mechanisms; (3) To select and prepare 15 students from the five community colleges to participate in an eight-week summer research experience that includes enrichment seminars, workshops, a research symposium and a closing banquet. These 15 students will conduct research with a Clarkson faculty mentor after their freshman and or sophomore year at their respective community college campuses; (4) To provide students with an interactive, web-based and on-site """"""""mini-prep"""""""" course that will teach them the skills needed for scientific intent. This course will identify the core mathematic concepts that are needed to analyze scientific data and interpret results; (5) To provide summer research students the opportunity to publish their research results in journals; (6) To offer opportunities for two faculty members from each community college to conduct research at CU during the same eight-week summer research period as the students; (7) To successfully transfer 50 percent of NIH summer research participants into four-year programs in the biomedical related sciences for completion of the students' baccalaureate degrees. It is our goal to assist students in the completion of their associate degrees and transfer to B.S. programs that are in line with the biomedical related sciences at Clarkson (Biochemistry, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Sciences). Our Bridges program will provide our participants with the confidence, background knowledge and skills necessary for their successful progression and completion of the baccalaureate degree and encourage them to seek advanced degrees.
