The Indiana University-Minority Serving Institutions (IU-MSI) STEM Initiative has already helped several student and faculty researchers advance their educational and career goals. Now, through a memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday, September 20, 2017 in Tallahassee, Fla., even more in their ranks will have the opportunity to gain extensive experience in the laboratories of a Research I university while making important professional connections that can serve as a potential springboard to additional success.
Through the Fully Engaged Partners component of the IU-MSI STEM Initiative, IU and its partner institutions will nearly double the number of students participating in the STEM Summer Scholars Institute (SSI), which will welcome its 12th cohort next summer. As the initiative expands, nine minority-serving institutions—which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges—will become partner institutions. Clark Atlanta University, Jackson State University, Langston University, Salish Kootenai College, Tuskegee University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and the University of California, Merced have all already signed the agreement, though an additional 11 institutions could be become Fully Engaged MSI Partners by the end of the academic year.
“The educational experiences for the students and opportunities to collaborate for the faculty presented through this initiative are extremely valuable, and I’m proud that IU can make an impact in helping to bolster the pipeline of minorities in STEM fields,” said James Wimbush, the principal investigator for the IU-MSI STEM Initiative and IU’s vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs, dean of The University Graduate School, and Johnson Professor for Diversity and Leadership. “I’m also quite grateful to our partner institutions for their investment in this initiative, as we work together to support researchers from all backgrounds.”