Ocean Literacy and Education: Building an Innovative Workforce
through Diversity Maria E. Alvarez, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
MBRS-RISE and EARDA Program Director El Paso Community College P.O.
Box 20500 El Paso, TX 79998 [email protected] Slide 2 From our Ocean.
Slide 3 Community Colleges The Education System of the Future
Affordable and accessible Multiple entrance and exit points Open
door (from kinder care to geriatric) Responsive to workforce needs
Success stories: Commander Eileen Collins, Dr. Richard Carmona,
Congressman Silvestre Reyes Dr. Adena Loston, NASA, Community
College Day at NSF, April 2006 Slide 4 Two-Year/Community Colleges
1,100 regionally accredited community, two-year colleges Ten
million students 46% of all U.S. undergraduates, 45% of first-time
freshmen 56% of Hispanic, 57% of Native American, 467of African
American and 48% of Pacific Islander 58% of female undergraduates
Talented student population Great potential to enter the Ph.D.
pipeline Two-year colleges have not received the same level of
funding as four-year institutions American Association of Community
Colleges (www.aacc.nche.edu) Slide 5 Community College Advantages
Smaller class size at the freshman and sophomore level Flexible
class schedules which facilitate student employment More
personalized attention and support Extremely affordable (average
community college tuition is $1,560 compared to $4,081 for
universities) Slide 6 EPCC Demographics The Fastest Growing
Community College in the U.S. Five Campuses Record Credit
Enrollment for Spring 2006 24,000 85% Hispanic student population
62% Female, 38% Male Average age 26.4 More than 130 programs of
study Approximately 5,000 students enroll in Biology and Chemistry
classes per year Transferable science courses Slide 7 EL PASO
COMMUNITY COLLEGE (Numero 1) First Community College to receive an
Extramural Associates Research Development Award from NIH First
Community College to receive a Multi-user Biological Equipment
Grant and a Facilities Renovation Grant from NSF First Community
College to receive an MBRS- RISE Grant from NIH First Community
College to receive a grant for an ICP from NSFs Chemical
Instrumentation Program Total Funding >$5,000,000 Slide 8
STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS >100 Students participated in research
activities 60 presentations at national and 20 regional scientific
meetings 9 RISE student research awards 3 RISE students conducted
research at NIH and Baylor 5 RISE students are in Ph.D. programs
Slide 9 Building the Dream Catalysts (Faculty, Administrators,
Students) Training 1. Quality Education for Minorities Network
Workshops for NSF
(http://qemnetwork.qem.org/index.htm)http://qemnetwork.qem.org/index.htm
2. The Extramural Associates Program at NIH- NICHD
(www.nichd.nih.gov/about/od/eap/eap.htm)www.nichd.nih.gov/about/od/eap/eap.htm
Funding-MBRS-RISE Program
(www.nigms.nih.gov/Minority)www.nigms.nih.gov/Minority Slide 10 The
Extramural Associates Program Ten-week residency at NIH Funding
opportunities and mechanisms at NIH and other agencies Workshops on
grant writing, policies, institutional capabilities assessment,
compliance, proposal receipt and referral Review sections NIH
Mentor, contacts Equipment donation programs Become an advocate
$30,000 Phase I EARDA Grant Award Phase II EARDA expanded the
benefits Slide 11 MBRS-RISE PROGRAM Minority Biomedical Research
Support-Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement EPCCs RISE
to the Challenge
(www.epcc.edu/programpages/rise)www.epcc.edu/programpages/rise
First award to a two-year college Funded on the first trial Two
million over a four-year period Student, Faculty and Community
Development Activities Slide 12 NIH-NIGMS-MORE Student Development
Programs PhD Granting Institutions MARC U*STAR MBRS-RISE Bridges to
the Doctorate Bridges to the Baccalaureate Slide 13 Bridges to the
Baccalaureate Degree Provides funds for a partnership program
involving two-year colleges awarding the Associates degree and
institutions awarding the Baccalaureate degree in science relevant
to biomedical/behavioral research disciplines. Bridges Programs
must be designed to target underrepresented minority students
majoring in the sciences. Bridges to the Doctorate Degree Provides
funds for a partnership program involving institutions awarding the
M.S. degree and universities awarding the Ph.D. degree. Bridges
Programs must be designed to target underrepresented minority
graduate students majoring in the sciences. Slide 14 RISE Program
Institutions will make use of existing research on how to improve
undergraduate teaching and learning to design programs aimed at
increasing the competitiveness and interest of students for
graduate school. For the graduate component, institutions will
design programs that expect students to perform at a high-level,
thus increasing the retention and graduation of competitively
trained students who will pursue research careers. MARC U* STAR
Program Institutional training grants provided for the support of
minority, full-time, honors junior/senior undergraduate students
participating in a MARC curriculum. Programs may be designed to
include pre-MARC student development activities. Slide 15 Science
Literacy in a Complex Education System Implement in College for all
students inquiry- based teaching and non-cookbook lab experiments
Making Science out of Science Education Focus on recruiting,
preparing and supporting science teachers (10,000 exceptional
students attracted to K-12 Science and Math teaching annually)
Information booklets for parents and students Adviser, teacher,
role model, friend training for faculty Science Education
partnerships between college faculty and K-12 teachers always
positive Dr. Bruce Alberts, UCSF, NAS, ASM 2006 National Meeting
Dr. Bruce Alberts, UCSF, NAS, ASM 2006 Annual Meeting
(www.nas.edu)www.nas.edu Slide 16 Community Colleges: A Rainbow of
Opportunities Imelda Rocha and Hugo Rodriguez NASAs Reduced Gravity
Program The MBRS-RISE Team
