Source: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
MULTICULTURAL SCHOLARS: DIVERSIFICATION OF RENEWABLE MATERIALS STUDENTS THROUGH STRATEGIC MENTORSHIP OF MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1026533
Grant No.
2021-38413-34843
Cumulative Award Amt.
$199,990.00
Proposal No.
2021-03958
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 15, 2021
Project End Date
May 14, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[KF]- Multicultural Scholars
Project Director
Robinson, S. C.
Recipient Organization
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CORVALLIS,OR 97331
Performing Department
CF Wood Science Engineering
Non Technical Summary
The wood products industy is lacking in diversity and as a result there is a need for a pipeline that connects underserved and diverse students to the industry. Community college students are often excluded from the recruitment process for four year institutions. In rural areas of Oregon, there are communtiy colleges that are supporting underserved students and by partnering with these community colleges, we will create an opportunity for these students to complete a four year degree and eventually become employees in the wood products industry. By including industry members as mentors for the student scholars, this will increase the connection of the students to the industry and will hopefully lead to more diverse students going into the wood products industry. The internal goal of this program is to provide support both financially and through mentorship to each of the scholars to increase the liklihood of them going into the wood products industry. Additionally, the program hopes to increase the number of students matriculating from community colleges into the Renewable Materials program, thereby increasing the number of students obtaining careers within the wood products industry.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90306503020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
0650 - Wood and wood products;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
To facilitate increased recruitment of underserved populations ofcommunity college studentinto Oregon State University and to ensure the success of said students through strategic mentorship and financial assisiance.1. Recruit 7 community college students that fall under our parameters of underserved students from our partnering community colleges.2. Provide financial assistance to students, including one year of support at the community college level and at two years of funding at the four year level. Student who qualify for the project will be required to maintain an 3.0 GPA, which will also make them eligible for departmental funding.3. Assign a faculty mentor to each student with en expectation that this faculty member will provide mentorship for the duration of the student's time in the program. This faculty member will provide guidance related to academics, career goals, and research opportunities for their assigned student.4. Assign an industry mentor to each student with an expectation that the industry mentor will provide guidance related to industry exploration and act as a contact within industry for professional development.5. Guide all 7 scholars to graduation in two years. For those that do not finish within two years, coordinate additional funding for students until graduation.
Project Methods
Student scholars will partner with faculty members within the RM program with the intention that these faculty members will provide guidance related to academics, career, and research opportunities. The students will be paried with a faculty member that aligns with the student's intended career area. Students will also be paired with an industry member with the intention that the industry member will provide inisght to the industry and the specific sectors that exist for employment. The intention is also that the industry member will bring their assigned student to networking events to intriduce the student to multiple companies and industry representatives.

Progress 05/15/23 to 05/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiene was the recruited students. These students are all mature, low-income students from community colleges in the Oregon system who, without the funding, could not otherwise have accessed university. Changes/Problems:The only major change is timeline. We encourage our students to look at study abroad and there is support money in the grant for this. However, many students are interested in the longer sessions, which does push back their graduation timeline from the estimated two years. However I do not see this as a problem--I'd much rather the students get the rich experience of study abroad, especially if we can pay for most/all of it. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All seven students have opted for study abroad experiences, whichi this grant and the College of Forestry have managed to cover in full. These study abroads will take place within this calendar year. Half of the students have schedule their first (in Molly's case, second) conference attendance, all of which will also be taking place this calendar year. Students are current securing their summer employment / internships. We have two students looking at doing an entire term abroad as well, and pairing that time abroad with conferences in the host country. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PI maintans ties to the community college from which the students were recruited. Later in March, the PI will hold another info session at Lane Community College, to discuss the success of the students who came from said college, and to encourage other students to follow a similar path. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I believe most of the students will attend a conference during the next reporting period, and half of them will have completed their study abroad. Molly will have completed her second full internship as well.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. we have finally enrolled our seventh student. The delay in his enrollment was due to medical - he ended up with a bad infection and needed his foot amputated. 2. All seven students are managing to pay in full for their OSU experience between this grant and other monetary assistance available in the Department of Wood Science & Engineering, and the College of Forestry. All students are maintaining their 3.0 or better GPAs 3 + 4. All students now have assigned faculty mentors who are active in their mentorship. All students have had at least one meeting with their industry mentor, with a target of one industry mentor interaction per term. 5. Our first cohort (Molly and Tessa) will finish their second year at OSU this spring. Both will be taking one additional term to graduate, which the College of Forestry is able to help fund. This delay is due to the students participating in study abroad, which we encourage.

Publications


    Progress 05/15/22 to 05/14/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:During this period we successfully recruited six MSP students. Two began at OSU in fall 2022 and four more will begin fall 2023. Our seventh student is pending acceptance. All were community college students from underserved backgrounds. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We are hosting an on-campus meet-and-greet for all the MSP scholars in April. This will give them a chance to meet their mentors face to face, tour the campus, and meet with their advisor, as well as see the facilities. Summer internships are in the works for the two OSU students, one of whom will be interning with a local nationally renowned harp maker. One of the OSU students will be doing a study abroad this summer in Europe. The other will be attending the American Association of Woodturners international symposium in April. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Two students and the one pending student came from Lane Community College. Their primary advisors came to visit OSU's campus in early February to see the program, and to start dialogue as to hwo we can create a smoother pathway for Lane students to enter Wood Science at OSU. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This upcoming period we hope to secure the last MSP spot, have the large all-MSP group meeting, and work with all the new students to get them enrollend and classes sorted for fall 2023.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Six of the seven students were recuited during this time period, and we have a seventh pending acceptance to OSU. All accepted students have gotten their first year disbersment of financial assistance. All accepted students have been assigned a faculty mentor. The two students currently at OSU have been assigned industry mentors and are having regular meetings. The two currently enrolled OSU students are on track for a two year graduation.

    Publications


      Progress 05/15/21 to 05/14/22

      Outputs
      Target Audience:A recruitment campaign has been initiated with partnering Community Colleges. Advising staff as well as selected intructors and administrators at each community college have been notified of the program and directed to a website where the application is live. At this point there are no applicants yet, but there have been several rounds of communication with the community college representatives. Changes/Problems:What we have noticed so far is that the designation of being a degree partnership program student has been a barrier to the recruitment. There has been some conversation about removing this requirement to broaden the pool of applicants. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported 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?In the next year, the goal will be to have the seven scholars identified and integrated into the program.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? None of these goals have yet been achieved. We are still in a recruitment phase.

      Publications