Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity

描述（由申请人提供）：范德比尔特大学修订后的IMSD更新提案旨在帮助增加进入科学职业的弱势少数群体的数量。 我们已经完全设计了我们的建议，专注于支持和指导那些谁是在我们的研究生课程录取的学生。 与最初申请IMSD的情况一样，设想的方法是，当许多少数民族学生因在教育机构、学习策略以及严重依赖实验室教学和科学文献方面往往非常陌生的新环境而感到压力和挑战时，通过提供支持，促进学生发展成为杰出的研究科学家。 在这个建议中，我们将建立在我们以前的经验，增加了一些引人注目的新策略，以支持我们的学生，特别是在关键的头两年的研究生学习。 这项建议将继续支持和加强我们的活动，以招募和支持少数民族学生的职业发展。 具体而言，它将使我们能够继续促进我们在以下领域的努力：（1）通过积极招聘保持校园内少数民族学生的数量，（2）为大幅增加和高度集中的指导提供支持，（3）使我们能够在研究生教育阶段为支持这些学生的发展事业进行重大投资。 正如进度报告中所概述的，我们认为我们在所有这些领域都取得了相当大的进展，我们希望继续这一成功的计划，同时也意识到改进总是可以实现的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The revised IMSD renewal proposal from Vanderbilt University is designed to help increase the number of disadvantaged minorities entering careers in science. We have completely designed our proposal to focus exclusively on support and mentoring for those students who are matriculated in our graduate programs. As in the original application for the IMSD, the approach envisaged is one which facilitates the students' development into outstanding research scientists by providing support at a time when many minority students feel stressed and challenged by what is often a highly unfamiliar new environment in terms of the educational institution, the learning strategies, and the heavy dependence on laboratory instruction and the scientific literature. In this proposal we will build upon our previous experience to add a number of dramatically new strategies to support our students, especially in the critical first two years of graduate study. This proposal will continue to support and enhance our activities to recruit and support the developing careers of minority students. Specifically, it will allow us to continue to facilitate our efforts in the following areas: (1) maintaining the number of minority students on campus through aggressive recruiting, (2) providing the support for dramatically increased and highly focused mentoring, (3) allowing us to make a major investment in supporting the developing careers of such students during the graduate education phase. As outlined in the progress report, we believe that we have made considerable gains in all of these areas, and we hope to continue what has been a successful program, while not being unaware that improvements can always be made.