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UNM URM Undergraduate Nurturing Opportunities (UNO)
Abstract: UNM URM Undergraduate Nurturing Opportunities (UNO) at the University of New Mexico has a goal in this 5-year program to recruit and prepare for graduate study and research careers at least 20 undergraduate students (5 cohorts of 6 students (as many as 12 students per year when cohorts overlap). All students will have 1-3 years of preparation and concentrated research with faculty mentors (see research areas identified above) based in the Museum of Southwestern Biology, Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER), Biology Department and University Honors Program. We will recruit sophomores, targeting underrepresented students who qualify and are interested in biology from UNM, Diné (Navajo) College, Central New Mexico Community College (CNM), Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) and other institutions in the Southwest. The applicant pool of 29,499 students at these institutions includes 4,048 American Indian, 635 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 786 Black, 12,305 Hispanic, 2,100 Other Ethnicities, and 9,625 Anglo students. We will use multi-level mentoring approach, involving students at various academic stages, so UNO participants choose successful paths to graduate school. In addition to Faculty Mentors, the program will include a rotating Graduate Mentor, a Peer Mentor from the Honor’s Program, and each will be assigned a Graduate Mentor to help navigate coursework and research demands. The UNM URM-UNO project will directly increase diversity and the level of participation by underrepresented students in advanced graduate training and research careers. The project will indirectly influence more students from underrepresented groups--friends of those who are selected, and others who apply to the program (and possibly selected for another program), to seek graduate level training. It has already strengthened UNM partnerships with SIPI and CNM for future recruitment and programs. UNO is a program that integrates research and education through seminars and participants’ laboratory experiences. UNO participants will include their families (members of the public) from the first day in their experience, thereby receiving their support and interest in the research they are conducting; an experience that they will take with them their entire life. An indirect outcome from this program will be to recruit many who would have otherwise not considered university study, increase graduation rates, and professional life-path choices. |
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