Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has formed an alliance with two upstate New York universities and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez to enroll more minority students in graduate programs and to produce more minority professors.

The alliance, which also involves Cornell University and Syracuse University, is supported by a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Rensselaer's portion of the funding will total $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 provide multiyear aid packages to minority students interested in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET). The goal is to enroll 75 to 100 doctoral candidates in SMET disciplines annually at each of the universities, starting in the fall of 2003.

"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.

Rensselaer and the alliance schools will also sponsor co-operative programs that aim to boost the numbers of underrepresented students who decide to teach at the college level. Some of those initiatives include seminars, research conferences, and lab visits.

AGEP's mission, according to its Web site, is to "increase significantly the number of students receiving doctoral degrees in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, and technology, with special emphasis on those population groups in these fields." More specifically, the program aims to (1) develop and implement innovative models for recruiting, mentoring, and retaining minority students in SMET doctoral programs, and (2) create and execute effective strategies for identifying and supporting underrepresented minorities who want to pursue academic careers.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A