Providing Technical Assistance to Increase the Competitiveness of Biology Faculty at Minority Institutions in the Directorate for Biological Sciences

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The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to provide technical assistance to Biology faculty members at minority institutions and underrepresented minority Biology faculty at other institutions to enable them to participate more successfully in programs within the Foundation's Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO). Technical assistance will be in the form of proposal development workshops as well as alerts regarding potential funding and other opportunities within BIO, including possible service as ad hoc proposal reviewers, members of review panels, and/or rotators (temporary program staff positions). The workshops will involve 80 faculty per year, 40 in each of two workshops that will be held in different parts of the country. Each workshop will assist participants in becoming better informed about NSF and the programs within the BIO Directorate, including NSF's merit review criteria, how to prepare proposal narratives and budgets, and how to successfully manage and implement research projects. NSF/Directorate Officials and BIO Program Officers will be invited to the workshops to discuss their programs, respond to questions, and offer advice to participants regarding the participants' research ideas. In conducting the workshops, QEM staff will be assisted by former or current BIO grantees who will provide a strong source of expertise for participating faculty, particularly in helping them identify proposal strengths and weaknesses. Faculty at minority-serving institutions and minority faculty at other institutions play a major role in the production of minority baccalaureate degree recipients in the biological sciences as well as in the disproportionate production of minority college graduates who pursue doctoral degrees in the Biological Sciences. For these reasons and others, it is important that Biology faculty among this group receive external support for their research and teaching. BIO awards can help to build a strong support structure for faculty research and the integration of research and teaching.