Broadening STEM Participation Through Institutional Collaboration

Presenters acknowledge the support of the following programs/individuals:

HHMI USE award (2008-2013)NIH SC INBRE Award Number: P20GM103499 (current)NSF S-STEM award #1154413 (2012-2018) NSF EPSCoR Program under award # OIA-1655740 (current)NSF REU award # 1757706 (current)Furman Office of Integrative Research in the SciencesKaren Buchmueller; Furman Chemistry REU Director

“To investigate and understand theuniversity’s historical associations withslavery, and then make connections in thepresent and repair historical harms.”

SAFE (Start an Amazing Furman Experience) Passage Pre-Collegiate Bridge Program (1-week expanded orientation)

Course introductions: Calculus, Biology, Organic Chemistry, Political Science and First YearSeminar syllabus review, sample tests, intro/mid-term lectures

Exposure to Research Opportunities: Chemistry and Biologyfaculty research discussions, overview of research opportunities,shadowing of current research students

The College Experience:“The Psychology of Study Habits”; maintaining a personal budget; Academic advising (with S-STEM secondary advisor); Quest challenge;Finding help (academic support/mental health

SAFE PASSAGE: Informing a larger institution-wide advising initiative:SOAR Scholars who self-report they would not have attended Furman without SOAR support (60% total):

Cohort 1: 50% (2); Cohort 2 50% (4); Cohort 3 75% (6)

SOAR Scholars who self-report that they might not or were not sure they would have attended Furman without SOAR financial support (40% total):

Cohort 1: 50% (2); Cohort 2 50% (4); Cohort 3 25% (2)

Graduation Rates:Of 20 SOAR Scholars enrolled as Freshman, 100% graduated

18 at Furman, 2 at U of SC; 75% in STEM disciplines 95% in STEM or allied field (Health Sciences, Psychology)

• 4-year advising pathway including scaffolded skills development (2-year seminar) + career engagement in Years 3, 4

• Summer Bridge experience (Pilot phase) to enhance student resiliency

Of the initial 20 SOAR Scholars (Cohorts 1,2 and 3):95% completed one or more research or internship experience50% completed a summer research experience as a rising sophomore70% completed two or more summers of research 35% completed three summers of research

Research Experience leading to presentations/graduate school/awards:Goldwater HM; NSF GRFP: 2 Recipients (1 URM)URM Graduate school success; Arizona (Biomedical Science);Minnesota (Pharmacology); Purdue (Chemistry)Over 40 presentation at regional, national and international meetings

Underrepresented Minority (URM) Success:32% of all SOAR Scholars were URM, 89% graduating with STEM degrees

Support mechanisms: Advocacy: secondary advisors; early research opportunities; mental health

supportSeminar Opportunities: connecting Scholars with existing seminar programs;

invited speakers (e.g. Valerie Horsley; Furman alumna, Yale)Multicultural Affairs/STEM Outreach: connecting Scholars with opportunities

focused on diversity and inclusion; providing access to outreach and community-engagement

Social Outings: Dinners (faculty homes, President’s pool); Escape Rooms; whitewater rafting and zip-lining (see pictures above)

The Furman Advantage guarantees every student an unparalleled education that combines classroom learning with real-world experiences and self-discovery. This integrated four-year pathway, guided by a diverse community of mentors, prepares students for lives of purpose and acceleratedcareer and community impact— demonstrating in concrete terms the value of a Furman education.

• High-Impact Practices (e.g., study abroad, research, internships, etc.)

• Four-Year Pathway: Individualized plans facilitated by team of advisors

• Critical reflection on development and progression through 4 years

• Career exploration, preparation, and development

Blue = HBCUGrey = PUIOrange = 2YC

Name Institution Student Body Location

Albany State HBCU 6600 Albany, GA

Augusta University PUI at the time

6700 Augusta, GA

Claflin University HBCU 2000 Orangeburg, SC

Campbell University PUI 4400 Buies Creek, NC

Erskine College PUI 600 Due West, SC

Grambling HBCU 3500 Grambling, LA

Greenville Tech 2YC 15000 Greenville, SC

Johnson C Smith Univ HBCU 1400 Charlotte, NC

Limestone College PUI 1000 Gaffney, SC

Newberry College PUI 1100 Newberry, SC

Spartanburg Methodist 2YC 800 Spartanburg, SC

UM-Eastern Shore HBCU 3600 Princess Anne, MD

UNC-Asheville PUI 3500 Asheville, NC

USC-Upstate PUI 6000 Spartanburg, SC

A Research Incubator Model• Visiting faculty-student teams

HBCUs, small PUIs & two-year colleges• Benefits

students work with someone they already know avoids the non-reciprocal draining of talent

from the home institution potential for collaboration

• Teams return for multiple summers

Research Experience for Teachers (RET)Summer 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019:

42 research experiences, 33 schools (HS and MS)16 universities/colleges

Six-week immersion research experience (200+ hours):Teachers complete research at an institution in their local areaTeachers carry out unique, individualized research projects

Compensation:Research Mentor: $2,000 research supply budgetTeachers : $3,000 / $500 materials support

(returns with them to their school)Curricular connections:

Teachers develop modules/lesson plans that link (translate) research experience to curricular instruction

(supported by research mentor & RET Coordinator)Academic Year Support :

Visit by INBRE RET Coordinator; Fall or Spring Semester

Connecting Summer Research to Curricular/Extra-Curricular Activities

Courses Beyond the ClassroomBiology (AP, IB, Honors) PLTW Medical InterventionEnvironmental Science SCJAS Fall WorkshopChemistry (AP, Honors) Poster Sessions Earth Science (Honors) College lab visitsAnatomy and Physiology PD Offerings

Student Participation with SC HBCUs through NIH-INBRE and NSF-EPSCoR

• 39 off-campus Black or Hispanic students provided 10 week research experiences• 29 students from SC HBCU campuses; 8 from Converse (women’s college)

Claflin (7); SCSU (6); Benedict (7); Voorhees (3); Morris (2); Allen (3)• Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Neuroscience (2), Psychology (2), Public Health (1)• Of first 19 participants completing program, 16 successfully tracked:

9 completed Ph.D.s (56%)1 M.Sc., 1 in Graduate School, 1 Research Ass’t (75% total STEM)2 in Health Career fields (1 PA, 1 Nursing)2 employed in non-STEM capacities

Six 4-year HBCUs (10 Total Collaborating Institutions)SC State University (2,500 undergrads); Benedict College (2,100 undergrads)

Claflin University (1,900 undergrads); Voorhees College (475 undergrads)Morris College (750 undergrads); Allen University (600 students)

For a quarter century, Furman University has focused on providingengaged learning (coined 1995) experiences, as manifested through“ultra-curricular” activities that include undergraduate research,internships and study away. Over this period, Furman has alsomagnified its institutional reach, focusing on increased communityparticipation and expanded opportunities for reaching diverse studentpopulations in the South Carolina (SC) Upstate and the broader region.

Chemistry’s NSF REU program provides one vibrant example. Furman’sChemistry Department was an early pioneer requiring undergraduateresearch in the 1970’s, a founding member of CUR, and has hadcontinuous NSF REU support since the 1980’s. In the late 1990’s, a shiftin approach enabled faculty-student teams from visiting campuses toconduct summer research over multiple years. This “researchincubator” model has served to strengthen the research capacity ofover a dozen institutions, including HBCUs, regional PUIs andcommunity colleges.

Leveraging the success of REU, Furman’s participation in establishingSC’s NIH INBRE network (2005) provided research opportunities tosupport underrepresented minority (URM) students on campus aswell as undergraduates from SC HBCUs and regional PUIs.Subsequent entry into the SC NSF EPSCoR network (2009) furtherexpanded experiences for underserved students participating fromregional campuses, in particular benefitting the SC HBCU community(SC State, Claflin, Voorhees, Benedict, Allen and Morris). Furman hasengaged over 40 visiting students through these two programs (95%URM), providing research awards across 5 unique departments(Biology, Chemistry, Health Sciences, Neuroscience and Psychology).

One INBRE institutional collaboration with Converse College standsout as a model. Starting in INBRE 2 (2010-2015) as a shared researcheffort between faculty members on each campus, this collaborationmatured into a formal partnership, with Furman serving as a mentorinstitution and ultimately assisting Converse in joining INBRE as anindependent institution. Through this initiative, Converse - a women’sinstitution of 900 students with a traditional focus on teacher training- acquired its first NIH funding, expanded its research activity, and hasconsequently experienced exceptional growth in STEM majors.

Recently (2015), Furman developed a statewide program funded bySC INBRE/EPSCoR to provide research experiences for highschool/middle school teachers (“RET”, 15 teachers/year statewide)with a focus on impacting schools with high URM populations ofstudents and/or significant poverty.

Through additional startup support from an HHMI USE award (2008-2012), Furman increased outreach to the K-12 sector by establishing afull-time, terminally-degreed science education and outreach position,facilitating new programming such as STEM mentoring fordisadvantaged middle school students, a partnership with Furman’snationally acclaimed college-readiness program (Bridges to a BrighterFuture), and opportunities for women/URM students enteringgraduate school and recruited from other institutions/interested inPUI careers to engage in on-campus summer post-bac experiences.

Formed in Virginia in 2014, the Universities Studying Slavery (USS)consortium now includes over 55 institutions (Furman included) that“have active research agendas addressing their specific relationshipsto slavery and/or their historical reliance on enslaved laborers to buildand maintain their campuses.” In 2017, the Task Force on Slavery andJustice was formed by Furman’s Provost, and through broad andexpansive work generated a 2019 report (Seeking Abraham) thatproviding a historical account of the relationship between slavery andthe founding and expansion of our institution. This effort, fullysupported by the Board of Trustees, puts forward numerousrecommendations to address these historical harms, and includesefforts to enhance cooperation and collaboration with HBCU campusesthroughout the region.

In 2011, the SOAR Scholars program (a Track 1 NSF S-STEM initiative)delivered a holistic model of science engagement that combinedFurman’s recognized strengths (rigorous curriculum, undergraduateresearch) with enhanced mentoring and pre-collegiate preparation.The success of this program (100% graduation of students enrolled as1st year students; 32% identifying as URM) has served as one model fora campus-wide approach to enhance retention.

John Kaup, John Wheeler, Andy Teye (Furman) Maria Melville, Ahmed Yunus (Benedict College)

at 2018 USS Symposium (Tougaloo College)

Chemistry Department NSF REU

NSF EPSCoR & NIH INBRE Networks

HHMI USE Institutional Impacts

Furman’s SOAR Scholars, a Model Initiative

Finding Abraham; Task Force on Slavery

NSF REU: Chemistry

Diversity of schools: by geography and byschool type (HBCU, PUI, 2YC). Furman hascollaborated with 14 Institutions.

Dr. Ghislain Mandouma (right) Professor of Chemistry

Albany State University (ASU)

“I personally benefited enormously fromthe mentorship over the five summers Ispent at Furman. Over that period (2010-14), my students and I were alwaysassociated with REU-related activities,especially the Southeast Regional Meetingof the American Chemical Society(SERMACS) which we attended with theFurman Chemistry group.

I was able to bring 11 undergraduatesto Furman and my own research

program grew considerably resulting in four peer-reviewed journalarticles and several more student poster publications.

Ultimately, I was able to apply and attain tenure at my current institutionthanks in large part to my collaboration and the encouragement receivedfrom Furman faculty. That successful collaboration led to another memberof my department/institution joining the REU program at Furman in 2015-16. My institution has tremendously benefited from the collaborationbetween ASU and Furman.”

99 Individual students 57 Visiting students 42 Furman students 30 Black students 4 Hispanic students

10 Visiting students were part of REU more than one year

Furman REU Student Participants, 2007-2018

Right: Annual Corporate Luncheon brings together all summer research students in chemistry (including 60+ students) with local and regional industrial representatives. Above: REU students lead hands-on science activities at the Frazee Center’s Friday Fun Day. Frazee is an after-school/summer program for at risk youth. REU has led this outreach initiative for the past 6 years.

John G. Kaup, Director of Science Education, Furman UniversityJohn F. Wheeler, Associate Provost of Integrative Research, Furman University

EPSCoR & INBRE RET(Research Experience for Teachers)

INBRE (2016-2019)EPSCoR (2018-2019)

Project: Tissue Engineering: Decellularized Porcine VesselsTeacher: Deanna Taylor, Middle School STEAM Magnet TeacherMentor: Wayne Carver, Biomedical Engineer; USC School of Medicine

Curricular Connection:“Students are working to design and build amechanical heart valve and then perform a pigheart dissection. They will replace the mitralvalve with the mechanical one that theydesigned and test it using "blood" (red water).”

Benedict College students Maria Melville (top right); Ahmed Yunus (bottom right) with their Furman research groups

Participating Middle School

Student Enrollment % AA

% Hispanic /Latino

Poverty Index

Hughes Academy 1035 35.6% 21.9% 48.0%Legacy Early College 1409 55.9% 34.1% 99.0%

Northwest 850 12.4% 6.1% 53.2%Lakeview 667 24.3% 57.1% 100.0%

Tanglewood 777 45.9% 36.2% 100.0%Berea 785 27.3% 39.1% 100.0%

Greenville County 76,167 22.5% 16.4% 48.2%South Carolina 781,493 33.2% 10.1% 61.2%

Started in Fall 2008, the Furman STEM Mentors programprovides a structure for Furman science majors to connectwith teacher-selected middle school students whose"potential is outweighed by circumstance". Students mentorgender-matched students for one session (generally about onehour) once a week. Since Fall 2008, over 300 Furman mentors(individual students) have participated, recording over3000 contact hours.

STEM Mentors join their mentees at Furmanon Furman Engaged! annual campus-widecelebration of student research and creativity

HHMI STEM Mentors & Science Exposure

Left: Furman received the Commendation ofExcellence for Service Learning from the SouthCarolina Commission on Higher Education(SCCHE) for the STEM Mentors Program.

Right: Furman mentors with HughesAcademy Mentees.

Linking two nationally distinguished campus efforts (STEM summer researchand Bridges to a Brighter Future) has engaged over 80 BBF students (80+% URM/90%low SES). This two-week STEM exposure program enables students to engage increative science activities across multiple disciplines, participate in field research andreflect through daily journaling. Over 30% of participants have elected to major inSTEM fields in college.

Students work together as 3-4 member teams to learn about and participate inresearch associated with a specific discipline. Week-long exposures in Chemistry,Biology and Neuroscience have been offered with day-long opportunities in ComputerScience, Mathematics, Physics and Earth and Environmental Science. High schoolparticipants are mentored through this program by Furman student researchers.

Introduction

SOAR Scholars:Making Furman accessible to academically talented students

The Furman Advantage: TFA

SUSTAINABILITY and TRANSLATIONAL OUTCOMES

K-12 outreach programs initiated by grants fromHHMI, EPSCoR and INBRE have continued throughinstitutional funding, including developing the Officeof Integrative Research in the Sciences (OIRS) andhiring of 2 full-time staff appointments.

S-STEM initiatives and outcomes informed localevidence-based strategies for developing new summerbridge and first and second year advising experiences.

Broadening participation, e.g. engaging a diversegroup of faculty and students from regional HBCU andwomen’s college campuses, can take place throughcollaborative summer undergraduate researchexperiences and research exchanges at the PUI level.

Middle and high school underserved students can beengaged through undergraduate mentoring programsand the development of research experiences forteachers that translate into curricular innovation(predominantly in high need districts). This is anexcellent mechanism for enhancing STEM communityengagement led by PUIs across the local area and,depending on capacity, extending regionally.

Collectively, these programs demonstrate how a smallPUI can collaborate with multiple institutions (33distinct colleges/universities; 33 K-12 schools) tostrengthen/broaden STEM engagement/participationat the local, state and regional level.

HHMI

REU

EPSCoRINBRE

SOAR (Science Opportunities, Activities, and Resources) Scholars Program

“Early and Often”

undergraduate

research experiences

Support Activities

SAFE Passage