Recruitment

2018 Southern Regional Education Board 25th Institute on Teaching and Mentoring

Karian J Wright

 

For the seventh year in a row, the CIE was invited to attend the Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB) 25th Institute on Teaching and Mentoring held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia from October 25-28. This event is the largest gathering of underrepresented minority Ph.D. scholars in the country. For over 24 years, the Institute has provided workshops, recruitment and networking opportunities to enhance the professional development of the Ph.D. scholars with effective tools to be successful as faculty in post-secondary institutions. The goal of the Institute is to provide a safe environment for doctoral scholars to share insights and survival tips for success in graduate work, build community among themselves and faculty representatives and enrich their research and teaching strategies.

The CIE’s participation in this important event was two-fold. First, through our AGEP project, we were given the opportunity to nominate CIE scholars to attend as participants and benefit from the wide range of professional development and career opportunities offered by the Institute. This included access to over 80 recruiters and senior administration from a wide variety of institutions who were in search of fresh new talent to diversify their faculty ranks. The Institute provided the opportunity for these representatives to connect directly with scholars who were in search of career opportunities. The second aspect of the CIE’s participation in this conference was to participate as recruiters. This year, our focus was to recruit applicants for our IRACDA postdoctoral training program and share information about other postdoctoral training and faculty opportunities available at SBU.

Currently, only approximately 6 percent of U.S. faculty members are African-American, and only 5 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Meanwhile, the diversity of the nation’s college students is growing rapidly, up to 14 percent African-American and 17 percent Hispanic in 2016. This is what makes this event so important. We congratulate SREB on their 25 years of success and look forward to our continued participation in the future.

 

Mission Possible: Recruiting Stellar Diverse Students to Stony Brook University for Graduate School

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Fall is recruitment season for universities, and Stony Brook University is actively seeking stellar students to join their 140+ graduate programs. Through the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) in the Graduate School, our recruitment efforts focus on individuals from historically underrepresented groups who wish to obtain a Master’s or PhD in one of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

Having just attended the 42nd National GEM Consortium Annual Board Meeting and Conference in Los Angeles, we were encouraged to see so many exceptionally talented graduate students pursuing Master’s and PhD’s in electrical and computer engineering, chemistry, biomedical engineering, and many other STEM subjects. It is clear that the applicant pool is full of stellar, diverse individuals with a strong desire to contribute to their scientific disciplines.

Our next stops this semester include the for Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Conference in San Antonio, TX from October 11 – 13, as well as the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Indianapolis, IN from November 14 – 17. This will be the 11th year the CIE has the opportunity to participate in both conferences, and we’re thrilled to meet some of the best and brightest students in STEM. If you plan to attend, please visit our teams at booth #246 at SACNAS and booth #745 at ABRCMS – we’ll be giving out information on graduate programs and funding, we well as free giveaways and application fee waivers to those who qualify!

Though we are primarily interacting with undergraduate students interested in continuing their education, the CIE is also participating in the SREB Institute for Mentoring and Teaching in Arlington, VA from October 25 – 28. This is the 25th Anniversary of the Institute, and the CIE is excited to return and meet prospective postdoctoral associates and faculty from historically underrepresented groups. Our graduate community thrives when our faculty represent diverse perspectives.

In addition to national conferences, the CIE staff coordinate local and regional trips to meet future STEM leaders at their undergraduate institutions. This fall we will visit Brooklyn College and Hunter College within the City University of New York (CUNY) system, as well as John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University-New Brunswick and St. Peter’s University. We hope to have the opportunity to visit colleges in the Southeast as well, including the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Maryland-College Park and Morgan State University. Our traveling recruitment team of faculty, students and staff present to prospective students in a more intimate classroom setting, allowing for in depth conversation and extended Q&A. If you’d like to host a Stony Brook team at your institution, or if you are faculty in a Stony Brook University Graduate Program interested in collaborating on a pathway development recruitment trip, please contact Rosalia Davi, Diversity Outreach Coordinator, at Rosalia.davi@stonybrook.edu.

Each year we are fortunate to meet so many inspiring individuals who are passionate and driven in their academic goals. The CIE hopes to connect them with the many funding and research opportunities available at Stony Brook, thereby strengthening the community of underrepresented and underrepresented minority scholars on campus and throughout STEM. Follow our travels on Facebook and Twitter – and if you see us on the road don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello!

Photo of Stony Brook University's Center for Inclusive Education recruitment team at the SACNAS Conference in October 2017 Team member included (Top row, from left to right): Angel I. Gonzalez, PhD; Adelle Molina; Miguel Garcia-Diaz, PhD; Yalile Suriel (Bottom row, from left to right): Maria Barrios Sazo and Vanessa Lynn

Stony Brook University’s Center for Inclusive Education at SACNAS 2017
(Top row, from left to right): Angel I. Gonzalez, PhD; Adelle Molina; Miguel Garcia-Diaz, PhD; Yalile Suriel
(Bottom row, from left to right): Maria Barrios Sazo and Vanessa Lynn

5th Annual Graduate School Preview Day

tsperzel

Applying to graduate school can be overwhelming, time-consuming and expensive. Stony Brook University’s Center for Inclusive Education in The Graduate School aims to make the process less stressful – and more successful – by offering information, advice and support at Graduate School Preview Day (GSPD). On Friday, August 17th, the CIE team hosted its 5th annual GSPD, and welcomed nearly 30 undergraduates, Master’s students, and adult learners to the Hilton Garden Inn on campus.

The day kicked off with opening remarks by Richard Gerrig, PhD, Interim Dean of The Graduate School, who emphasized the need for a diverse graduate student body to ensure research is inclusive, and therefore more effective. Dr. Gerrig then moderated a faculty panel that provided attendees with an insider perspective on strengthening their applications. Takeaways from this panel included: reach out to prospective faculty mentors early, and don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back right away – (polite) persistence is key. Also, do your homework on the program to which you plan to apply: review the program’s website, contact program leadership, and schedule a meeting with a prospective faculty mentor to learn if the program (and university) is the right fit for you before delving into the application process. For more advice and application best practices, watch the faculty panel video on the Center for Inclusive Education’s Facebook page.

During the Graduate Program Networking Lunch, attendees had an opportunity to speak to department representatives and ask program-specific questions about GRE and GPA requirements, funding opportunities, course schedules, etc. The majority of attendees emphasized the value of the Networking Lunch, with one prospective student stating “[It] allowed me to interact and ask questions personal to myself.” Shortly after, attendees heard from current graduate students, all of whom are Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) scholars, about their personal experience getting into, and getting through, their graduate programs. The graduate student panel was moderated by CIE Program Manager, Angel I. Gonzalez, PhD, who completed his graduate studies at Stony Brook University. The engaging panel touched on topics including how to identify or choose your mentor, whether to apply to a PhD or Master’s program, and if taking some time off (i.e. gap year) before entering graduate school is advisable. Watch the full conversation on the CIE’s Facebook page, and feel free to comment or ask questions for more advice on how to get into (and succeed) in graduate school!

The final activities of Graduate School Preview Day included a presentation on funding and research opportunities at Stony Brook. Faculty and CIE scholars led lab tours in Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacology, Chemistry, Psychology, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Neurobiology & Behavior and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science. This unique opportunity allowed attendees to see first-hand what it would be like to conduct research at Stony Brook University. Attendees also learned about institutional and external funding mechanisms that can support their graduate studies. Visit the CIE’s event webpage to view the full PDF presentation on funding.

We would like to thank all of our campus partners who contributed to the success of Graduate School Preview Day! Special thanks to our faculty panelists: Drs. Dilip Gersappe, Robert Br. (Barney) Grubbs, Kathleen M. Fallon, and David A. Rubenstein; as well as our graduate student panelists: Vaughn Greene, Jr., Brittany Miller, Hanna Morales, and Yalile Suriel.

Questions about graduate study at Stony Brook, funding opportunities or the Center for Inclusive Education? Email us at CIE_GraduateSchool@stonybrook.edu or call 631-632-1386

 

Recruitment 101 – by Kathryne Piazzola

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Recruitment season is upon us once again. The CIE team is gearing up to travel to conferences and meet with qualified, diverse, prospective scholars for graduate and postdoctoral opportunities at Stony Brook. This time of year also brings to mind our current scholars who are planning to travel to a conference to present a poster or perhaps learn more about an organization. If this is you, here are three tips, based upon what we look for in potential candidates who stop by our table, for maximizing the effectiveness of your time in the conference exhibit hall.

  1. Come prepared: If you are approaching the table, you should be able to quickly and concisely explain to the representative(s) who you are, what research you are conducting and what types of information you are looking for (e.g. summer internships, graduate admissions, fellowships, postdoctoral/faculty positions). Recruitment representatives love when attendees have a copy of their CV to reference later. Make sure it has up-to-date contact information so that representatives are able to reach you for follow-up.
  2. Ask questions: We want to spend time with attendees who are truly interested in Stony Brook and the resources available to them through the Center for Inclusive Education. Attendees who ask questions and engage in mutual conversation stand out amongst the crowd. We suggest you research and pre-select questions to get you started. Do your homework about the institution you are approaching in advance of the conference. Know how your interests fit with their opportunities, and make this match known. Ask targeted questions about the institution that will help you understand your potential fit – “what is the culture like in the institution/lab/team?”; “why did you choose this institution/lab/team?”; and “what types of funding opportunities exist to support research?”. You also want to know “what is the average departmental time to degree for PhDs?”, and “what is the timeline of completion (including coursework, comprehensive exams and dissertation milestones)?”. As the conversation unfolds, more questions may come to mind, but hopefully you will be more comfortable to engage from this starting point.
  3. You are always networking: It’s possible that you may not have the specific qualifications a representative(s) is recruiting for at the time of the conference or meeting. However, you never know if a different opportunity will arise in which they will find you to be an ideal candidate. Whenever you are speaking with a representative, even if it is away from the recruitment table, you are networking. Be sure to smile, offer a firm handshake and engage in conversation. Follow-up with every person from whom you receive a business card or email address. The connections you make may seemingly have no immediate outcomes, but the network you build will have a ripple effect into your career.

AGEP-T FRAME and Turner Fellows have the opportunity to apply for conference travel support through these programs. Contact Karian Wright (AGEP-T FRAME) or Toni Sperzel (Turner) for details.  We recognize the impact these opportunities have on your professional development and career trajectory and would love to support your participation to make connections and build your professional network.

The CIE is particularly excited about two events we will be hosting, right here on the Stony Brook campus:

GEM Grad Lab – Saturday, October 24 – 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – LDS Center **tomorrow**

Graduate School Preview Day – Friday, November 20 – 8:00 am to 5:00 pm – Wang Center

If you are interested in experiencing what it’s like to serve as a recruitment representative, we  would love for you to join us at one of these events to represent the CIE and your graduate program – Please contact me (Kathryne Piazzola) for more information.