california-hispanic-serving-institute-article-by-wider

Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions HSIs Title V Programs provides grants to assist HSIs to increase educational opportunities for Hispanic students, and improve high

The U.S Department of Education’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Title V Programs provides grants to assist HSIs to increase educational opportunities for Hispanic students, and improve higher education attainment The HSI Program grants also enable HSIs to enrich their academic programs and enhance program quality

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) amended Section 503(b) of the Higher Education Act to include, the authorized activities under the HSI Program These activities are focused on improving student services, with innovative courses designed to retain and progress students into core courses; articulation agreements and student support programs designed to facilitate the transfer of students from two-year to four-year institutions; and providing education, counseling services, and financial information designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students and their families

The California Hispanic Serving Institution Research Collaboration Conference:

A Review Article

By

Dr Elizabeth J Wider, RN, MSN, EdD California State University, Dominguez Hills

HSIs are defined as institutions of higher

education with 25% of the undergraduate population of

Hispanic heritage The California Hispanic Serving

Institution Research Collaboration Conference held

February 20 – 21, 2013 at the Disneyland Hotel, focused

on the best practices for educational institutions to

collaborate on research projects, toward achieving the

goals of the Department of Education’s HSIs Title V

program The following is a presentation of the highlights

from the HSI conference hosted by Dr Barbara

Endemano Walker, Director of Research Development for

the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Fine Arts, UC Santa

Barbara

The two day HSI conference provided

significant information regarding grant opportunities and

best practices for collaborative research ventures The

Key Note Speaker, Dr Sally Rockey, Deputy Director for

Extramural Research, National Institute of Health,

presented discerning information regarding the status of

women as principle investigators (PIs), and the need for

increased diversity and training for doctorate level

researchers According to Dr Rockey, only 27% of

research proposals are submitted by women PIs Sighting

the Donna Ginther (2001) research titled, “Economic

Explanations for the gender gap in Science”, Dr Rockey

confirmed the gender gap continues to be a significant

factor for scientific researchers The severe lack of

diversity within the scientific community, led to program

initiatives like the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s

Advancement of Women in Academic Science and

Engineering Careers (ADVANCE)

Dr Beth Mitchneck, Lead Program Director for

ADVANCE at NSF, presented critical information

regarding the ADVANCE program One vital point of

interest provide by Dr Mitchneck, is that ADVANCE is

now open to all faculty, versus only tenure track faculty

Dr Mitchneck identified the Partnerships for Adaptation

Implementation and Dissemination (PAID) program, as a

means to support administrators, deans, and chairs in the

advancement of gender equity and diversity regarding the

office, duties and appointment of professors Although

ADVANCE and PAID are exciting programs, the reality

is, unless early education is supported by higher

education, the goals of ADVANCE and PAID will remain

lethargic

Fortunately, the future of programs like ADVANCE and PAID is optimistic by way of funding opportunities supporting centers and programs like the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program Centers (STEP Centers); the Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES); and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Dr Jose Herrera, Program Director at the NSF in the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), presented encouraging information regarding the success of the STEP, TUES, and NOYCE programs as collaborative funding opportunities for higher educational institutions These programs focus on supporting undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) programs

in order to enhance the teaching and learning, and the advancement of undergraduate students to credentialed

K-12 teachers Dr Herrera’s presentation was exemplary of the cyclicality effect of higher education on 12, and

K-12 on higher education, demonstrating the means to the goals of improving educational opportunities Hispanic and all underrepresented students

Dr John Rand, Program Director (Rotator) in the Human Resources Division of the NSF, Louis Stakes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) presented another program vital to the success of underrepresented students, the "Bridge to the Baccalaureate Alliances" (B2B) The B2B is a program designed to support community college partnerships with universities, toward the transfer of underrepresented minority STEM students

to four-year institutions for STEM baccalaureate degrees Crucial for the purposes of funding, the LSAMP offers research development grant sub-awards to the aligning institution Without the identification of these and other grant opportunities, the goal of HSI would remain impeded

The program officers from the U.S Department

of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy Laboratory system (DoE), and Department of Education underscored the wide range of funding opportunities through these agencies and key information regarding how to

Dr.

Barbara Endemano Walker

Dr Beheshti is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Knowledge Management and

Computational Science (CECS), and Professor of Computer Science at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Dr Beheshti is also the director of the Computer Science Research Lab (CSRL) conducting exemplary research in Intrusion Detection system and Data Mining, in collaboration with other faculty and undergraduate/graduate students He has developed new graduate and undergraduate programs with the sole purpose to better prepare student for the workforce and future studies Dr Beheshti has received numerous grants to advance technology in education; and has hosted a series of workshops for high school teachers

to further promote computer science to high school students Dr Beheshti is clearly dedicated to student attainment and achievement

Dr Beheshti presented invaluable key concepts for the novice and seasoned PI He encourages

membership with consortiums, which can lead to establishing a campus research center Again, with the focus on the student, Dr Beheshti encourages PI’s to involve students in research, beginning at the undergraduate level The most compelling advice Dr Beheshti presented, were the best practices to engage students These practices include supporting student clubs/association through faculty advisement, mentoring students, faculty roll modeling, nurturing students, and encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration Dr Beheshti recommends to always involving students in research projects to provide valuable research experience, and as a way to encourage future researchers

The California Hispanic Serving Institution Research Collaboration Conference proved to be a very exciting, motivational, experience and opportunity Dr Barbara Endemano Walker successfully provided a forum for high quality information and collaborative

opportunities The breakout sessions during the first day

of the conference enabled networking, facilitated by exemplary program directors with successful collaborative histories Additionally, at the end of the second day, opportunities for one-to-one meetings with program officers were available The HSI conference was truly a success, from the accommodations to renowned speakers, who presented information clearly in a manner even the novice investigator can grasp The conference was ultimately a learning and collaborative opportunity for everyone in attendance A special thanks to Dr Barbara Endemano Walker for coordinating a conference that presented and exemplified key collaborative practices

successfully receive funding awards For example, Dr

Irma Lawrence, who serves as the USDA National

Program Leader for the Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Education grants programs, emphasized the need to

demonstrate how collaboration with the USDA will be

incorporated into the project, when writing USDA grant

proposals Dr John P Knezovich the Director of the

University Relations & Science Education at Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) stressed how

world renowned laboratories are available in California,

for collaboration as research sites Collaboration with

renowned research laboratories has a positive influence

on funding awardees

Mr Peter Fusscas the Senior Program Officer at

the Department of Education in the Hispanic – Serving

Institutions Division provided vital information regarding

cooperative grants Specifically, Mr Fusscas pointed out

how cooperative grants are awarded to universities that

already have Title V grants and more importantly, partner

institutions do not have to meet the FTE or designation

requirements of the HSI program Furthermore, there are

no geographic restrictions for the partners The

information provided by the aforementioned speakers,

broadened the spectrum for researcher funding

opportunities

Other program directors and managers offered

promising information regarding funding opportunities

Ms Erica Teofilo the Minority Serving Institutions

Program Manager at the United State Agency for

International Development (USAID) encouraged

researchers to conduct research overseas and to pursue

sub- and associate grant opportunities with other

institutions Dr Michael Bender, Program Director in the

Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the

National Institute of General Medical Science (NIGMS)

encouraged researchers to identify other colleges with

educational programs, research goals, and comparable

grants of interest, for potential collaboration Dr Judith

Arroyo the Minority Health and Health Disparities

Coordinator in the Office of the Director at the National

Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Additions (NIAA) for the

National Institute of Health (NIH) highlighted the

advantages of planning grants as a means to establishment

and sustaining future research projects

The second day of the conference focused on

best collaboration practices Speakers from California

Universities presented significant criterion as a “recipe for

success”, with effective collaborative approaches, the

operative theme Dr Cynthia Herrera, Project Director of

the Department of Education Title V HSI STEM and

Articulation Grant at Oxnard College emphasized the

need for transformational leadership, who are innovative

risk takers Another extremely important key point Dr

Herrera presented, is the need to build research objectives

into the curriculum

Dr Dotti Pak the Education Director of the

UCSB Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) accentuated

the importance of real collaboration and benefits between

the institution According to Dr Pak, successful

collaboration can be achieved when a strong research

sphere link is identified at each institution, thus increasing

the benefits for both institutions For example, one

institution has a focus on research and the other focuses

on research application All of the speakers for the last

day of the conference emphasized student involvement;

however Dr Mohsen Beheshti who really solidified the

point

Important Links:

California State University, Dominguez Hills: Center for

Excellence in Knowledge Management

& Computational Science (CECS):

http://csc.csudh.edu/?q=node/44

Center for Science Review Website:

http://public.csr.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Center for Urban Education: http://cue.usc.edu/

Clinical Translation Science Awards (CTSA):

https://www.ctsacentral.org/about-us/ctsa

Department of Education: Developing

Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program Title V:

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.ht

ml

Department of Energy Laboratory System (DOE):

Funding opportunities:

http://energy.gov/public-services/funding-opportunities

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation

(LSAMP): http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf

12564/nsf12564.htm

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

(NIGMS): http://www.nigms.nih.gov

National Institutes of Health (NIH): nih.gov

National Institutes of Health (NIH): Funding

opportunities: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/

National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Institute

of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS):

Institutional Research and Academic Career

Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12):

http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/CareerDev/T

WDInstRes.htm

National Science Foundation (NSF): ADVANCE:

Increasing the Participation and Advancement of

Women in Academic Science and Engineering

Careers (ADVANCE)

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?

pims_id=5383&org=NSF&sel_org=XCUT&fro

m=fund

National Science Foundation (NSF): Procedures Guide

(PAPPG) NSF 13-1

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?

pims_id=504720

Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic

Systems (TANMS): http://www.tanms.ucla.edu/

Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic

Systems (TANMS): ‘Cradle-to-Career':

http://www.tanms.ucla.edu/education.htm

University of California, Davis School of Education

Edward Teller Education Center: Lawrence

Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL):

http://etec.llnl.gov/

University of California, Santa Barbara: Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials

(PREM):

http://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/education/undergrad/pr em

U S Agency for International Development

(USAID): usaid.gov

U S Agency for International Development

(USAID): All Children Reading: Grand Challenges for Development

http://usaid.gov/what-we-do/education/improving-early-grade-reading

U S Agency for International Development (USAID)

Grants: http://usaid.gov/who-we- are/resource-portal

U S Department of Agriculture (USDA): Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants:

https://www.cfda.gov/?s=program&mode=fo rm&tab=step1&id=28cce109dfe98d7bf8166 f2c9658d11d

U.S Department of Education (2011) Developing

Hispanic-Serving Institutions Programs – Title V Definition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions Retrieved from

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/definition html