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Dec.
9, 2002 |
Rensselaer Wins NSF Grant to Attract and Enroll
More Minority Students
Rensselaer is one of three upstate New York universities
that have formed an alliance with the University of Puerto Rico
at Mayagüez to enroll more minority students in graduate
programs and to produce more minority professors.
The universities will jointly recruit graduate
students from predominantly minority colleges, offer summer
programs for prospective graduate students, and offer multiyear
aid packages to minority students interested in science, mathematics,
and engineering. The goal is to recruit 75 to 100 doctoral
candidates in science, mathematics, and engineering annually
to each of the four universities, starting next fall.
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The alliance, which involves Cornell and Syracuse
Universities, is supported by a $2.5 million grant from the National
Science Foundation (NSF). Rensselaer will receive $625,000. The
grant is part of the NSF's Alliances for Graduate Education and
the Professoriate (AGEP) program.
The universities will jointly recruit graduate
students from predominantly minority colleges, offer summer programs
for prospective graduate students, and offer multiyear aid packages
to minority students interested in science, mathematics, and engineering.
The goal is to recruit 75 to 100 doctoral candidates in science,
mathematics, and engineering annually to each of the four universities,
starting next fall.
"This will enable Rensselaer
to create pipelines to graduate school for our students, give
them the tools they need to succeed, and then help place them
in academic positions," said Tom Apple, vice provost and
dean of graduate education.
Additionally, Rensselaer and the alliance member
schools will sponsor co-operative programs-like seminars, research
conferences, and lab visits-that aim to boost the numbers of underrepresented
students who decide to teach at the college level.
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