Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Multicultural Scholars Program, Penn State University

<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:<br/> The percentage of minority participation in all agricultural fields is currently less than 13% nationwide. The agriculture industry and its workforce still lack diversity. The field of veterinary medicine is no exception. Historic analysis of underrepresented student enrollment at U.S. Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in 2009 indicates that there was approximately 10% increase in minority enrolment since 1981 while there has been a dramatic gender shift for the last three decades (women now make up 80% of enrollment). As our national population demographics change, veterinarians will be serving a more diverse society by year 2050. However, the veterinary college student population is not reflecting the current ethnic and racial diversity of the population of the U.S. Therefore, it is imperative that we create opportunities to increase the
veterinary medical student applicant pool and enrollment to reflect ethnic/racial demographic changes. Despite the recent economic challenges and declining state appropriations, Penn State continues to provide excellent education to its students and has devoted considerable amount of attention to its minority population which has increased steadily from 10.5% in 2000 to 13.4% in 2009. This project is designed to help increase the multiracial and multiethnic expert pool in the nation's scientific and professional workforce, and help address the issues of food safety, security and animal health through strong mentoring and technical training at Penn State.
APPROACH: During the first year of the project, the program directors will aim to recruit students from urban locations where there is a significant presence of students from varied racial/ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in agricultural sciences. Once matriculated, VBS MSP scholars: 1) will be given a special orientation to meet with her/his academic adviser; 2) will be enrolled in their courses in clusters including a first year seminar course; 3) will be housed in clusters (Freshmen In the Sciences and Engineering house where scholars will have a direct access to tutors in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics ; 4) will take an active role in the Penn State's Pre-Vet Club and MANRA (Penn State chapter of the national society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences-MANRRS); 5) will be encouraged to apply for the Ag
Advocates Program in the CAS; 6) will take part in planning, organizing, and implementing service learning/outreach activities in the CAS; 7) will participate in national meetings to network and expand their professional circles through national MANRRS and the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association meetings and through local meetings (PVMA, and Northeastern Regional Pre-Veterinary Symposium, Biomedical Sciences Symposium, and many extension training programs at Penn State; 8) will earn independent study credits and gain outside the classroom hands on experiences under the close supervision of their career advisers in the Animal Diagnostics Laboratory and Veterinary Extension and Field Investigation at Penn State for four consecutive semesters; 9) will meet with their academic advisers, and multicultural programs adviser in the CAS on a regular basis in each semester to make sure the
scholars are adjusting to campus as well as on-going personal and professional support; 10) will interact with veterinary professional role models; 11) will have the opportunity to participate in livestock farms, and a USDA laboratory visits; 12) will be encouraged to participate in a short or semester long study abroad opportunity; 13) will be engaged in two Special Experiential Learning (SEL) activities during summers; and 14) will receive help preparing for GRE exams and for applying veterinary schools. The project directors expect scholars to gain a strong foundation in the biological and physical sciences in the first two years, and competency in applying scientific principles to real-life animal care and health, food safety, and disease control through specific knowledge base, outside-the classroom hands-on experiences, independent study, and SEL activities in the third and fourth
year. The project directors will: a) monitor each scholar's academic progress in each semester by meeting them as a group and an individual basis; b) solicit scholars' evaluations of the program and their experiences at the end of each academic year; c) solicit academic adviser's, independent study advisers', and SEL coordinators' input on scholars' performance, and d) follow scholars longitudinally through college, professional programs, and career placement for the following five years after they graduate from Penn State.
<p>PROGRESS: 2013/02 TO 2014/02<br/>Target Audience: Our target audience was to select three multicultural high school seniors who already applied to Penn State during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 (two replacement scholars) academic years respectively. The PIs interactions were with these three scholars. Changes/Problems: Problems and Challenges: we have encountered a number of challenges and problems before and after we recruited the students into the Scholarship Program. The first challenge we encountered was competing with other universities to recruit strong multicultural students to apply to the Scholarship Program. We aggressively reached out to the pool of students provided to us through the Penn State's Admission's Office. However, not many students applied to the scholarship program which somewhat limited the final pool. After we identified 3
outstanding scholars for the 2012-2013 academic year, only 1 scholar persisted in the program at the end of the first year (Ms. Linder). One scholar changed her major (Ms. Coy) to Kinesiology and became ineligible while the other didn't meet the GPA requirement to persist in the program (Ms. Patrovanie) and became ineligible. There is always the threat of changing majors and/or not being successful in the major. During the exit interview, Ms. Patrovanie indicated that the college education was a lot harder than she ever expected. She is still in the VBSC major program but without a scholarship and she is provided the same mentoring and academic advising services. During the 2013-2014 academic year, the PI replaced Ms. Coy and Patrovanie with Mr. Noguera and Kukoyi after going thorugh a rigorous selection process among the high school applicant pool. Mr. Kukoyi was put on academic
probation due to poor scholarship during the Fall-2013 semester even though strong mentoring and academic advising services were provided for him. He too indicated that the college was a lot harder than high school. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Planned activities: Ms. Linder is continuing on her Independent Study rotations in the ADL and Vet Extension and Field Investigation units. This is her third semester in these units while Mr. Noguera's first. The scholars earn 1 credit in each semester. Ms. Linder and Mr. Noguera will participate in the field investigation under the close supervision from Dr. Paul H. Patterson, Professor of Poultry Science during the spring-14 semester. They will be visiting a number of Amish farms with small poultry flocks and other livestock. Ms. Linder and Mr. Noguera will participate in the
national American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association national meetings in Iowa State in March of 2014. Ms. Linder will participate in the Michigan State's College of Veterinary Medicine's Vetward Bound Summer Program while Mr. Noguera and Kukoyi will intern in their local veterinary clinic as outlined in the proposal. Ms. Linder just finished the application process for the Ag Advocates which is a program where the chosen students gain knowledge of agricultural research, teaching, and extension programs at Penn State. They promote the Nittany Lion spirit and develop valuable public-speaking and leadership skills. They interact with business and industry professionals and work with University faculty, staff, and administrators. They represent the College of Agricultural Sciences at various recruitment and retention events and programs. Mr. Noguera and Kukoyi will apply as a
sophomore next year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Since we are continuing working towards our goals 3 (retain), 4 (mentor), and 5 (train), The PI and the Co-PI intend to hold regular monthly meetings with the students to go over their progress individually on a more frequent basis to intercept if there is any challenge(s) that any scholar is facing on a timely fashion. This is designed especially for the current freshmen scholars, Mr. Kukoyi and Noguera while Ms. Linder has been well established and has been maintaining an excellent GPA.
<p>PROGRESS: 2012/02/15 TO 2013/02/14<br/>OUTPUTS: We, the PI and Co-PI contacted 32 eligible multicultural students who had an offer of admission to the VBSC major at Penn State's University Park campus. We utilized the USDA's MSP scholarships and the matching amounts from the College of Ag Sciences (the total amount was up to the cost of in state tuition) in addition to emphasizing on the nature and strength of the scholarship program. We strongly encouraged the applicants to send in their essays to meet the initial application process requirement. Among 32, only 7 students sent their essays answering the questions outlined in the previous report. We made phone calls to encourage the remaining students and brought their parents into the conversation, however; we didn't receive more than 7 applications. Our committee consisting of 3 veterinarians (the PI is included),
the Co-PI (Multicultural Program Director in the College of Ag), and the Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Education of College of Ag. The applications were reviewed by the committee and applicants were ranked from 1 to 7 (The PI removed the identity of the applicants and gave them numbers to remove any biasness). We interviewed them over a conference call. Once again candidates were ranked from 1 to 7. Three offers were made to 1 African American and 2 Hispanic students who were ranked at the top and they all happened to be females. The breakdown of their home states are: MA, NJ, and PA. The scholars were placed in their fall-2012 semester courses based on their placement test results on Math and Chemistry in July 2012. Students arrived for their orientation in August 26, 2012. Two of the students were placed in the FISE House which is housing for first year students in the sciences
and engineering majors while one was placed in the Honors College dormitory since she is an honors student. As we proposed, they were assigned to be advised by a senior and experienced academic adviser. We met with the scholars in the beginning, mid-semester and at the end of the semester as a group and then individually. We also asked students to write their career goals to have a working documentation which might be revised as they continue to make progress in the pre-veterinary major. PARTICIPANTS: Personnel change: The PI would like to report that the project Co-PI left her position of Multicultural Programs Directorship post, Penn State's College of Ag Sciences, to pursue a PhD program in May of 2012. Since then, the College has created a position of "Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs" and appointed Professor Patreese Ingram to this position. Under her post a new
Multicultural Programs Coordinator position was created and that position was filled by Mr. Derek James in February 7, 2013. The PI has been working closely with these individuals since then. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
PROGRESS: 2011/02/15 TO 2012/02/14OUTPUTS: PROGRESS: 02/15/2011-02/14/2012: Project directors worked on recruiting high school seniors to apply to Penn State University's Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (VBSC) major. All recruitment efforts were prioritized for the high schools in Pennsylvania. Co-PI is the director of the Multicultural Programs in the College of Ag Sciences. She works closely with many urban high schools where there is a significant presence of students from various racial/ethnic backgrounds. She widely distributed the information among these high schools about the scholarship. Both directors visited W.B Saul High School for the Agricultural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA and distributed the scholarship information among the 12th grade students. Furthermore, announcements were made at several university meetings to encourage other recruitment
colleagues to spread the word to students who may be interested. PI meets with many prospective students through many outreach programs for high school students (VBSC Camp, AG Open House, and Spend-A-Summer-Day) throughout the year. She strongly encouraged the racially/ethnically qualifying students to apply to Penn State to be eligible to apply for the USDA-VBSC-MSP scholarships. Recruitment period ended in December of 2011. Most students apply to Penn State by 30th of November each year. Although we strongly encouraged students who are academically and racially/ethnically qualified for the nature of the scholarships, we still had to rely on the lists that we have received weekly from the Admission's Office at Penn State from October 2011 to-date. Applying to Penn State's VBSC major is the key to be eligible to apply to the scholarships. Using the weekly rosters received from the
admissions office, we started to contact the eligible students via phone and e-mail. Selection process among the eligible students was based on their SAT's, high school GPA and science predictors. Because our VBSC pre-vet major is a very rigorous curriculum, we have contacted those students whose likelihood of succeeding in the major is high. These students were being pursued by other institutions as well as Penn State. We also have chosen students who received an offer of admission to the main campus because all the laboratory rotations are proposed to be done in the main (UP) campus; and the selected students will participate in a prestigious living-learning program for S.T.E.M students that will provide a positive transition in the first year. We set the scholarship application process as two-tiered evaluation and established a departmental scholarship committee: 1. Writing an essay
to answer the following questions: a) Please describe your experiences that stimulated your desire to become a veterinarian; b) Please describe the challenges faced by the veterinary profession in their roles to help provide a safer food supply, and/or to contribute to the public health; c) Describe 3-5 key leadership and communication skills needed by veterinarians; and d) How you think you can contribute to the diversity and have a lasting impact on College of Ag Sciences and the Penn State. 2. Interview the students either face-to-face or by teleconference. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.