The Montana America Indian Initiative for Minority Student Development (IMSD) seeks to expand and enhance the previously funded MBRS program through an existing American Indian Research Opportunities(AIRO) consortium between Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU) and seven Montana tribal colleges (TCs): Blackfeet Community College in Browning; Dull Knife Memorial College in Lame Deer; Fort Belknap College in Harlem; Fort Peck Community College in Poplar; Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency; Salish Kootenai College in Pablo; and Stone Child College in Box Elder. This new IMSD program will place its focus on developing the academic competitiveness of under represented minority students to facilitate their progress toward careers in biomedical sciences. To this end the specific aims relative to American Indian students are to: (1) provide students with an enrichment experience in a biomedical research environment; (2) expose students to a broad spectrum of career opportunities in biomedical/health science fields; (3) increase the rate of successful transfer of these students from the TCs to MSU and from MSU to professional/graduate schools; (4) increase the recruitment, retention and graduation of American Indian students in health science curricula; and (5) strengthen the research capabilities of faculty at both MSU and the seven TCs.
These aims are completely consonant with the institution's goal of pooling resources and strengthening efforts to increase the number of American Indians graduating with college degrees in fields which they are significantly under represented. MSU is a comprehensive state university offering bachelor's degrees in 44 fields covering 116 areas, master's degrees in 36 fields, and doctoral degrees in 12 areas; all seven TCs are accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and offer associate's degrees; one TC (Salish Kootenai College) offers a B.S. degree in natural resources. Originally established at MSU in 1986 and supported through federal grants, AIRO was instutionalized at MSU in July 1996 with university funding to ensure its continuance beyond the life of the grant support. Since its inception, AIRO has collaborated with the TCs and the public and private K-12 schools in or near the seven reservations in Montana to promote science, mathematics, engineering, and technology-related careers among American Indian students. It has successfully managed grants from the NSF, USDA, and NIH as well as other resources, to recruit and motivate American Indian students into areas which they are most under represented. The IMSD will operate as part of the AIRO consortium arrangement, which functions as an umbrella organization for all minority programs and initiatives targeting American Indian students in the fields of science and technology. These include the Minority (high school) Apprenticeship Program (MAP), the MARC program and the Minority Intellectual Network for Dedicated Students (MINDS). AIRO has also collaborated in two joint projects: the Technology Infrastructure and Information Access Program (TIIAP) funded by the Department of Commerce and the Experimental Program for Women and Girls (EPWG) funded by NSF. The Airo program is administratively under the provost the IMSD program director reports directly to the provost and also has ready access to the President of MSU.
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