Academic Opportunities through Recruitment, Retention & Mentoring for Undergraduate Minorities in Biotechnology & Forensic Science

智力优势：这个项目在州立堡谷大学（FVSU）的目标是：1)充分留住有才能但经济条件差的理科本科生，同时显著缩短他们的毕业时间；2)招募弱势但有才华的学者进入STEM专业，努力接触未被充分代表的少数民族；3)使他们不仅能够在STEM领域攻读高级学位，而且能够在STEM领域发挥教育、领导和管理作用。该项目面向33名FVSU全日制本科学生，分别为植物科学-生物技术专业（25名奖学金）和生物/法医学专业（8名奖学金）。奖学金筛选和选拔委员会成立以促进该计划，由杰出的教师组成，他们的指导能力和来自不同STEM领域的奖学金以及财政援助主任。每个奖学金获得者都被指派一名指定的教师导师来指导获得者的学术发展。奖学金获得者可获得丰富的机会，包括每月研讨会，辅导，暑期实习和服务学习职位，实地考察，师生合作研究，出席会议，校友指导和全面的职业咨询。生物技术和法医学奖学金拓宽了FVSU学生在考虑职业选择时的视野。更广泛的影响：FVSU服务的地理利基包括佐治亚州中南部，其特点是非洲裔美国人在农村环境中所占比例很高，经常受到持续贫困的折磨。FVSU是一所历史悠久的黑人大学，绝大多数（93%的在校生）是少数民族学生，他们在STEM领域的代表性不足。该项目支持一个更大的STEM计划，旨在增加和加强hbcu与主流大学、州和地区法医和健康科学实验室、美国农业部和其他农业企业之间的伙伴关系、网络和合作。通过这个项目，更多经济困难的学生有机会成功完成学士学位，继续攻读研究生课程或进入广泛的科学相关领域的职业，满足地区和国家的劳动力需求。该项目为其他寻求促进STEM本科指导项目的少数族裔服务机构调整成功的活动提供了一个模型。

Intellectual merit : This project's goals at Fort Valley State University (FVSU) are: 1) to achieve full retention of talented but financially disadvantaged undergraduates majoring in the sciences, while significantly reducing their time to graduation; 2) to recruit disadvantaged but talented scholars into STEM majors, making efforts to reach underrepresented minorities and; 3) to prepare them not only to pursue advanced degrees in STEM but also to play educational, leadership and managerial roles in STEM fields. The project targets 33 fulltime FVSU undergraduate students enrolling in Plant Science-Biotechnology (25 scholarships) and Biology/Forensic Science (8 scholarships). A Scholarship Screening and Selection Committee is formed to foster this program and consists of distinguished faculty members recognized for their mentoring ability and scholarship from diverse STEM fields as well as the Financial Aid Director. Each scholarship recipient is assigned a designated faculty mentor to guide the recipient's academic development. A rich array of opportunities are available to the scholarship recipients including a monthly seminar, tutoring, summer internship and service learning positions, field trips, faculty-student collaborative research, attendance at conferences, and alumni mentoring and comprehensive career counseling. The biotechnology and forensic science scholarships broaden the horizons of FVSU students in considering their career choices. Broader impacts: The geographic niche that FVSU serves includes south-central Georgia which is characterized by a high proportion of African American residents in rural setting that are often afflicted by persistent poverty. FVSU is a historically black university, and a vast majority (93% of enrolled students) are minority students that are characteristically under-represented in STEM fields. This project supports a larger STEM initiative that seeks to increase and strengthen partnerships, networks and collaborations between HBCUs and mainstream universities, state and regional forensic and health sciences laboratories, USDA and other agricultural enterprises. Through this project greater numbers of financially needy students are presented opportunities to successfully complete their baccalaureate degrees and go on to pursue graduate programs or enter careers in a broad range of science-related fields, meeting regional and national workforce needs. This program serves as a model for adapting the successful activities for other minority-serving institutions seeking to promote undergraduate mentoring programs in STEM.