Collaborative Proposal: The EDGE Program

EDGE(增强研究生教育的多样性)计划于1998年在国家科学基金会的资助下推出，是一项针对女性的过渡计划，旨在提高数学研究生课程的保留率。该方案在研究生入学前的暑假为其女性参与者提供了一个支持性和积极的学习环境，其中一半来自代表性不足的群体。EDGE暑期计划帮助学生预见并为第一年的困难做准备。在研究生院的第一年，继续提供支持，确保学生有当地的导师，并融入他们所在部门的社会和学术社区。EDGE计划解决了被许多研究确定为不利于女性和少数族裔在研究生院取得成功的障碍，并为克服这些障碍提供了新的模式。这个由Bryn Mawr和Spelman学院合作的项目将以九年的经验为基础，推进该计划的目标，即改善女性和少数族裔学生的保留率，并进一步开发和传播有效的模式来实现这一目标。该项目的四个主要组成部分是：(1)延长EDGE暑期计划，为期四年，2008-2011年；(2)针对研究生和本科生教员的并行讲习班，旨在促进EDGE计划与这些系之间的合作；(3)2008年夏季在数学科学研究所(MSRI)举行的“促进数学研究生水平的多样性：国家论坛”会议(由国家安全局共同资助)；以及(4)“第二代”EDGE活动，包括继续区域辅导集群，将EDGE辅导模式扩展到地理位置相近的高级研究生、博士后和初级教员。该项目最终将通过创建数学课程和组织的模型来使数学社区多样化，使来自各种背景和文化的人能够茁壮成长、进步，并为该专业做出贡献。

The EDGE (Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) Program, introduced in 1998 with funding from the National Science Foundation, is a transition program for women designed to improve retention rates in graduate programs in mathematics. The program provides a supportive and positive learning environment for its women participants, one-half of whom are from underrepresented groups, in the summer prior to graduate school. The EDGE Summer Program helps students anticipate and prepare for first-year difficulties. Support continues in the first year of graduate school by insuring that students have local mentors and are integrated into the social and academic community of their departments. The EDGE Program addresses barriers that have been identified by many studies as detrimental to the success of women and minorities in graduate school, and provides new models for overcoming those barriers.This collaborative project between Bryn Mawr and Spelman Colleges will build on nine years of experience to advance the program's goals of improved retention for women and minority students, and further development and dissemination of effective models to achieve this goal. The four major components of the project are: (1) renewal of the EDGE Summer Program for four years, 2008-2011; (2) concurrent workshops for targeted graduate and undergraduate faculty aimed at promoting collaboration among the EDGE Program and these departments; (3) a conference "Promoting Diversity at the Graduate Level in Mathematics: A National Forum" at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Summer, 2008 (jointly funded by the National Security Agency); and (4) "Second-Generation" EDGE activities, including continuation of Regional Mentoring Clusters that extend the EDGE mentoring model to advanced graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty in close geographical proximity.This project will ultimately diversify the mathematics community by creating models for mathematics programs and organizations that allow people from all backgrounds and cultures to thrive, advance, and contribute to the profession.