Undergraduate Diversity at SSE 2001

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The need

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Evolutionary biology, the science of diversity, is fundamental to a variety of national interests, yet is one of the least diverse disciplines as represented in the work force and on university faculties

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The idea

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Members of the SSE Diversity Committee (Irene Eckstrand (NIH), S. Edwards (U. Washington), Joseph Graves (Arizona State U. West), Emilia Martins and Michael Wade (U. Indiana), in consultation with Libby Lyons at NSF, designed a program to bring 16 undergraduates from all corners of the country to SSE (Society for the Study of Evolution) 2001 to present posters and be mentored by participating faculty and graduate students.

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The funding

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This pilot program was funded through the NSF Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program, whose goals are to “to foster an enriched and culturally diverse research andeducational environment [for students]…” and “to enable faculty members to become better mentors”.

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The program

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The SSE Diversity program has two main components. 1) undergraduates will present posters on research they are conducting at their home institution. 2) students will be mentored, for one full day each, by a faculty member and graduate student in fields related to the student’s interests.

The mentoring consists of attending talks and meals together, active evaluation and discussion of talks between student and mentor, and introducing the student to other faculty and students in the field. In addition there will be a Diversity Social (Friday at 4:30 in KCEC room 6) for everyone interested in issues of student diversity in the evolutionary sciences and a talk/discussion, Saturday at 5:00, open to all undergraduates, about how to succeed in evolutionary biology and the many diverse disciplines and career types it serves. The mix of mentoring, research presentation and participation in a supportive group environment should make for a rich meeting experience for the students.

Undergraduate Diversity at SSE 2001

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The future

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Sarah Cohen. Through evaluation and improvement of this year’s pilot program, we hope to continue facilitating undergraduate participation in SSE on a larger scale and ultimately through independent funds.

Mexico State U. 

The participants

University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras; Audrey Abrams, Duke U.; Elan Alford; U. Pittsburgh; Roman Arguello, Oregon State U.; Dawn Black, Fairmont State College; Carla Cortes, Universidty of Puerto Rico - Rio Pedras; Leyla Descheney, Arizona State U.; Carmella Essien, U. Arizona; Matt Fujita, U. C. Davis; Erin Harvey, Arizona State U. West; David Lum, University of Washington; Joe Perry, Arizona State U.; Tovah Salcedo; Smith College; Rafaela Szpoganicz, UCLA; Yingssu Tsai, U. C, Berkeley; Francis Vigil, New Faculty mentors Graduate Student Mentors

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Students Rachael Brookes, Kristie Mather, Gerda Saxer. : Rosie Albarran-Zeckler; : Shanna Carney, Cliff Cunningham, Carl Schlichting, Jay Evans, Douglas Crawford, Margie Oleksiak, Scott Edwards, Theresa Markow, Larry Weider, Daniel Promislow, Dave Mindell, Mike Travisano, Tom Wilcox, Josepha Kurdzid, : Mike Blum, Hopi Hoekstra, Matt Saunders, Regina Baucom, Ana Carnaval, Andy Aguilar, Corey Welch, Cristian Davis, Michelle Riehle, Lacey Knowles, Patrick Stephens, Chris Hess, Robert Goldman, Jen Anderson,

Thanks to

: Monica Silva, the SSE 2001 Planning Committee at U. Tennessee, and the U. Washington Zoology staff.

Pep talk for undergraduates at SSE 2001

The following is an outline of a talk given by S. Edwards to Undergraduates at the SSE 2001 meetings. The talk was designed to make the undergraduates aware of the wealth of career choices open to students trained in evolutionary biology and to encourage them to set goals and apply for funds to support their graduate research.

Genetics Ecology Microbiology Math Physiology Zoology Botany

Evolutionary biology

Computational Biology-genomics proteomics Public health Epidemiology Agro-ecology Academics Teaching Conservation biology Museums USDA/EPA/ Forest Service Pharmaceutical industry

Research as an undergraduate…..

• • • • • • • Get involved in research early Consider trying to publish your results Surprise your mentor with your curiosity!

Subscribe to a journal/read lots/join a society Practice writing/summarizing your results Find out what you like Determine strengths/weaknesses

• • • • • • • •

Getting into graduate school

Good grades Research experience Aim high -- seek out the best programs/faculty Follow up: write letters/call -- no email!

Consider jumping directly into a Ph.D. program Have research ideas, yet be flexible Visit top choices Make sure your program will support you - RAs/TAs

• • • • • • •

External fellowships for graduate school

Always apply NSF Graduate Fellowships (no Masters) (http://www.nsf.gov/home/menus/grads.htm) Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellowships (http://www.hhmi.org/) Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships (http://www4.nas.edu/osep/fo.nsf) Gates Millennium Scholars Fund (http://www.uncf.org/scholarship/gates.asp) UNCF/Merck Fellowships for African Americans (http://www.uncf.org/Merck/) Fellowships from country of origin

In graduate school

• • • • • • Begin research early Seek out training -- in and out of class Set publishing goals Tailor your research to your career goal NSF Dissertation Improvement Grants Other funding -- Sigma Xi, Explorer’s Club

Beyond graduate school

• • • • Consider your options carefully Postdocs -- opportunities for expanding your toolkit – NSF Bioinformatics Postdocs – NSF Minority Postdoctoral Fellowships – NIH Postdoctoral Fellowships – NIH Minority Supplements – Opportunities overseas Faculty positions Other fields requiring evolutionary expertise

Carpe diem! (‘seize the day’)

• • • • Changing demographics of job opportunities Abundant opportunities for minority scholars Get to know funding programs and program officers at NSF, NIH, USDA-- they are there to help!

Seek advice!