Progress 12/15/05 to 12/14/10
Outputs
We had four Scholars remaining on this grant. Two students completed their studies and graduated in May 2010, and two will graduate in May 2011. Three of these students started at UVM in fall 2006 (two students from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC, and one from Seattle, Washington) and one entered as a transfer student fall 2007 (from Bethesda, Maryland). The transfer student demonstrated exceptional academic performance and graduated in May 2010. The three remaining Scholars did, or continue to do, well and are either graduated or in good academic standing. PRODUCTS: Four Scholars were funded on this project. In April 2010, fifteen juniors and sophomores from the High School for Environmental Studies who are interested in the environment visited the UVM campus. Students made connections with current Scholars, faculty and staff at UVM, and learned about the campus and admissions at UVM. They also paid a visit to the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory and Shelburne Farms to learn about current UVM research projects there. The USDA Multicultural Scholars and National Needs Fellows had two social events to foster community and networking. Co-PD's Marie Vea-Fagnant and Emilie Riddle began laying the groundwork for outreach projects to underrepresented students in the Burlington schools, working primarily with a tutoring and mentoring program called Shades of Ebony at Burlington High School. A SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) Chapter of the Ecological Society of America was started in the Rubenstein School, and several of our Scholars have been involved. One Scholar participated in a SEEDS weekend workshop in Adirondack Park, and another Scholar attended the ESA Annual Meeting. USDA Scholars have been active on campus in Residential Life, working as Eco-Reps in the dorms, and doing internships for organizations such as Clean Air-Cool Planet. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. This year included special visits by: Charlee Glenn, Diversity Programs Assistant for Ecological Society of America, Deputy Director Mickey Fearn of the National Park Service, and former Scholar and alumnus Kesha Ram, currently serving her second term as a Vermont State Legislator. OUTCOMES: One Scholar on this grant, who had two successive summer internships with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, has gone on to a full-time position at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge as a Visitor Services Specialist. Another Scholar on this grant participated in a Research internship through the USDA Forest Service and another through the Vermont River Conservancy. He has been doing outdoor ecology education with children in the Washington, D.C. area, and continuing work with the Vermont Land Trust. We continue to demonstrate increasing levels of success in pipelining Scholars into graduate schools and careers in the field of environment and natural resources: three recently graduated Scholars are enrolled in graduate school (2 at UVM), one is a Vermont State Representative, and one has been consulting for the Baltimore Parks and People Foundation and is considering graduate school. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: PDs Mary Watzin, Emilie Riddle & Marie Vea-Fagnant conducted a conference call with Nature Conservancy in March to discuss partnership building with TNC. PDs Mary Watzin, Emilie Riddle & Marie Vea-Fagnant followed up with a visit to our partnership school, High School for Environmental Studies in May 2010. PDs Emilie Riddle & Marie Vea-Fagnant attended the 1st Annual Green Jobs & Career Fair in Dec 2010, co-hosted by The Nature Conservancy and the Ecological Society of America. We continue to develop our webpage to present information about the USDA Multicultural Scholars Program at The Rubenstein School. Co-PD Emilie Riddle and other Rubenstein School faculty met with underrepresented students attending the Discovering UVM campus visit program to discuss academic and career options in the field of environment and natural resources. Welcome letters were sent to all students of color who were either prospects or admitted students to The Rubenstein School for fall 2011. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to monitor the Scholars' progress and assist them in counseling and appropriate resources to help them be a success as they move into careers in the environmental professions. Our Career Services Coordinator and other staff members are available to work with alumni who need resume, job search, or career advice. In addition, UVM has a network of alumni around the country who are available to meet with and mentor young professionals.
Impacts
Ultimately, it is our hope that our Scholars will continue their education with graduate degrees in the environmental, food, or agricultural sciences. These future professors, researchers and environmental practitioners would serve as role models to encourage more multicultural students to pursue degrees in these fields, starting the cycle over again.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 12/15/08 to 12/14/09
Outputs
We have four Scholars who are in their senior year. Three of these students started at UVM in fall 2006 (two students from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC, and one from Seattle, Washington) and one entered as a transfer student fall 2007 (from Bethesda, Maryland). The transfer student has shown exceptional academic performance. Two of the remaining three Scholars have done well and are in good academic standing. The final Scholar has been struggling, but has been utilizing the support system here at UVM; we expect that her performance will continue to improve, and she continues to maintain a GPA that will allow her to complete her degree. PRODUCTS: Four Scholars are currently being funded on this project. In April 2009, ten juniors and sophomores from the High School for Environmental Studies who are interested in the environment visited the UVM campus. Students made connections with current Scholars, faculty and staff at UVM, and learned about the campus and admissions at UVM. They also paid a visit to the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory and Shelburne Farms to learn about current UVM research projects there. We sent two of our multicultural students to the 2009 Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, including 1 USDA Scholar. One Scholar attended the Powershift 2009 youth environmental action summit in Washington, D.C. Another Scholar is an active member of the Vermont Oxfam Action Corps, an environmental and social justice activism group. Special Rubenstein School Diversity Task Force events were sponsored to promote diversity and foster a positive climate for our students of color. The USDA Multicultural Scholars and National Needs Fellows had two social events to foster community and networking. Co-PD's Marie Vea-Fagnant and Emilie Riddle began laying the groundwork for outreach projects to underrepresented students in the Burlington schools, working primarily with a tutoring and mentoring program called Shades of Ebony at Burlington High School. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. This year included special visits by: journalist Paul Roberts speaking on The Future of Food in a Peak Oil World; Marcelo Bonta, the founder of Environmental Professionals of Color and the Center for Diversity and the Environment; Paul Mohai, Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan and leading Environmental Justice scholar; and former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin on How to Create Environmental Change. OUTCOMES: The immediate effect is that the four Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. One Scholar on this grant has had two successive summer internships with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and has strong job prospects with them after graduation. She continues to do research through EBioMe, the Environmental Biology Mentoring program. Another Scholar on this grant has participated in a Research internship through the USDA Forest Service. Another current Scholar is participating in wetlands research and graduate school preparation through the McNair Scholars Program. We continue to demonstrate increasing levels of success in pipelining Scholars into graduate schools and careers in the field of environment and natural resources: three recently graduated Scholars are enrolled in graduate school (2 at UVM), one is a Vermont State Representative, and one has been consulting for the Baltimore Parks and People Foundation and is considering graduate school. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: In October 2009, PD Deane Wang and Co-PD Emilie Riddle attended the USDA MSP/NNF Project Directors and Beneficiaries meeting in Washington, D.C. One USDA Scholar and one National Needs Fellow also attended. Dr. Wang and the NNF Fellow both presented at the meeting. We continue to develop our webpage to present information about the USDA Multicultural Scholars Program at The Rubenstein School. A new diversity page was released in December along with a new version of our School's website. Co-PD Emilie Riddle and Dr. Wang met with underrepresented students attending the Discovering UVM campus visit program to discuss academic and career options in the field of environment and natural resources. Welcome letters were sent to all students of color who were either prospects or admitted students to The Rubenstein School for fall 2010. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to monitor the Scholars' progress and assist them in counseling and appropriate resources to help them be a success. We plan to again send a group of Scholars and other multicultural students to the annual MANRRS conference in March 2010 in Orlando, Florida to network and open up possibilities for graduate programs and future employment opportunities. In addition, the Rubenstein School has taken the lead in establishing a Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) chapter at the University of Vermont. We will be developing programming associated with this effort. This is a Program of the Ecological Society of America (http://www.esa.org/seeds/) and should be an important opportunity for out students to network with scientists and identify research internships. We will be working with all current Scholars to do outreach on environment and natural resources issues to students from underrepresented groups at Burlington High School, and build on the budding partnership with the Shades of Ebony tutoring and mentoring program.
Impacts
Ultimately, it is our hope that our Scholars will continue their education with graduate degrees in the environmental, food, or agricultural sciences. These future professors, researchers and environmental practitioners would serve as role models to encourage more multicultural students to pursue degrees in these fields, starting the cycle over again.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 12/15/07 to 12/14/08
Outputs
We have four Scholars who are in their junior year. Three of these students started at UVM in fall 2006 (two students from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC, and one from Seattle, Washington) and one entered as a transfer student fall 2007 (from Bethesda, Maryland). The fifth student on this grant has just changed her major to Asian Studies at UVM, and will be removed from the grant. We will seek an eligible transfer student to utilize the remainder of this award. The transfer student has shown exceptional academic performance. Two of the remaining three Scholars have done well and are in good academic standing. The final Scholar has been struggling, but has been utilizing the support system here at UVM; we expect that her performance will continue to improve. PRODUCTS: Four Scholars are currently being funded on this project. In spring 2008, four students from The Rubenstein School (including one USDA Scholar) and two faculty/staff members visited the High School for Environmental Studies to strengthen our partnership. They did a full-day workshop with the students on planning a rooftop garden for the school to attract migratory birds. Seventeen juniors and sophomores from the High School for Environmental Studies who are interested in the environment visited the UVM campus in April 2008. Students made connections with current Scholars, faculty and staff at UVM, and learned about the campus and admissions at UVM. They also paid a visit to Shelburne Farms to learn about current UVM research projects there. In May 2008, co-PD's Maria Erb, Emilie Riddle, and Marie Vea-Fagnant visited Boston to explore new partnership possibilities. They attended a student organized Environmental Justice presentation at New Mission High School, and met with staff at the Urban Ecology Institute (UEI). As a result of this trip, Ms. Riddle and Ms. Vea-Fagnant returned to Boston in July with a representative from the UVM Admissions Office to give a presentation on environmental careers to high school students and meet with high school guidance counselors attending the UEI Summer Institute. We sent six of our multicultural students (B.S.,M.S., and Ph.D.) to the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado in 2008, including 2 USDA Scholars. Special Rubenstein School Diversity Task Force events were sponsored to promote diversity and foster a positive climate for our students of color. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. This year included special visits by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway, and former Director-General of the World Health Organization and Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. Letters were sent to all students of color who were either prospects or applicants to The Rubenstein School for fall 2009. OUTCOMES: The immediate effect is that the four Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. As a result of two co-PD's attending the MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and related Sciences) Annual Conference in March 2007, The Rubenstein School, in conjunction with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences, has established a MANRRS Chapter at the University of Vermont. The Chapter has met regularly this year to network and to plan and execute service activities in the community. Demonstrating some success in our efforts to 'pipeline' students into graduate school, this year brought the acceptance of two recently graduated Scholars into Ph.D. and M.S. programs at UVM. We also have a Scholar who graduated in May who ran a very successful campaign and was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in November. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Our University of Vermont Communications Office worked with the New York Times to write an article about our diversity efforts in The Rubenstein School and our outreach to our partnership high school, the High School for Environmental Studies. The article, covering the UVM students' visit in spring 2008 to plan a rooftop bird garden, was printed in the New York Times and online on June 17, 2008. The Communications Office also wrote and distributed an article about the research work of a UVM-affiliated US Forest Service Researcher, Dr. Paul Schaberg, on the possible affect of climate change on fall leaf coloration. The USDA Multicultural Scholars Program, and one of our Scholars who is the intern for this research, were highlighted in the article. One of our recently graduated USDA Scholars who is starting a Ph.D. program was invited to serve as a mentor and role model at the National Hispanic Environmental Council Annual NYC Environmental Youth Institute in June 2008. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to monitor the Scholars' progress and assist them in counseling and appropriate resources to help them be a success. We will continue to work with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences to build a diverse and active membership in our newly established UVM Chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences. One challenge we have found in building membership in our MANRRS chapter is that because we have so few students of color at UVM, many of them are pulled in several directions with academics, leadership and extra-curricular activities, and working part-time to earn money. We will continue to work to demonstrate to our students the potential that MANRRS has to play a significant role in their professional and career development. We plan to again send a group of Scholars and other multicultural students to the annual conference in March 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana to network and open up possibilities for graduate programs and future employment opportunities.
Impacts
Ultimately, it is our hope that our Scholars will continue their education with graduate degrees in the environmental, food, or agricultural sciences. These future professors, researchers and environmental practitioners would serve as role models to encourage more multicultural students to pursue degrees in these fields, starting the cycle over again.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 12/15/06 to 12/14/07
Outputs
We have three Scholars who are in their sophomore year and two Scholars who started at UVM in fall 2007, one new first-year student and one transfer student. The 3 sophomores are: Kizette Ortiz-Vanger and Mima Wellington (both from the High School for Environmental Studies, our partnership high school) and Amanda Wong from Seattle, Washington. Our new transfer student is Will Young from Bethesda, Maryland and our new first-year student, Angelica Morales is from Guadalupe, Arizona.
PRODUCTS: Five Scholars are currently being funded on this project. In spring 2007, we hosted a two-day on-campus site visit for Nia Rhodes, the Executive Director of the Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies, to strengthen our partnership. Two of our faculty presented during the High School for Environmental Studies "Careers in the Environment" day. Fourteen juniors and sophomores from the High School for Environmental Studies who were interested in the environment visited the UVM campus in May 2007. One Scholar and another student, a faculty member, and Maria Erb, the co-PD, visited the High School for Environmental Studies in November to promote the MSP, tell students about the spring visit to campus, and encourage seniors to apply to The Rubenstein School. Maria Erb, the co-PD, made a connection with a former Rubenstein School alum who is now a principal at Thurgood Marshall Academy, a predominantly minority high school, in Washington, DC. This alum is specifically
interested in the MSP and wants to see his students pursue majors in the study of the environment at UVM. Maria visited the high school in November to talk about the MSP program and admission to UVM. Five Scholars, two co-PDs, and Dean DeHayes, the PD, attended the MSP/NNF National Workshop in October 2007. Five of our participants also served on the Planning Committee with Dr. Trotman. Special Rubenstein School Diversity Task Force events were sponsored to promote diversity and foster a positive climate for our students of color. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. This year included a special visit by Jerome Ringo from the Apollo Alliance. Letters were sent to all students of color who were either prospects or applicants to The Rubenstein School for fall 2008.
OUTCOMES: The immediate effect is that the five Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. As a result of the two co-PDs attending the MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) Annual Conference in Birmingham, AL in March 2007, The Rubenstein School decided to try to establish a MANRRS Chapter at the University of Vermont. The 3 senior Scholars who attended the MSP/NNF National Workshop were able to network and open up possibilities for graduate programs and future employment opportunities.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Our University of Vermont Communications Office worked with an Associated Press reporter to write an article about our diversity efforts in The Rubenstein School and our outreach to our partnership high schoo, the High School for Environmental Studies. This article was released on the AP wire and was picked up by several northeastern newspapers. The Communications Office also wrote and distributed an article about our success in receiving grant funding through the USDA CSREES Multicultural Scholars Program and the National Needs Fellowship Program and the establishment of the Donald H. DeHayes Multicultural Scholars Endowment Fund. We are currently working on another press release that promotes the receipt of another MSP grant and a NNF grant this year. The Communications Office would also like to do another Associated Press article about our diversity efforts and the continued partnership with the High School for Environmental Studies. During the MSP/NNF
National Workshop in Washington, DC, Dean DeHayes was one of the key note speakers, one Scholar did an oral presentation of her research, another Scholar did a poster presentation of his research, and Maria Erb, a co-PD, did a poster presentation of the Multicultural Scholars Program at the University of Vermont. There was great discussion about our program during the poster sessions.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to monitor the Scholars' progress and assist them in counseling and appropriate resources to help them be a success. We will continue to work on establishing a Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences chapter at the University of Vermont. We have co-sponsored gatherings with the College of Agriculture and the College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Offices to try to build a cohort of students to establish a MANRRS chapter. We are hoping to send at least two to three of our Scholars to the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences Annual Conference in March 2008. One of the challenges that we have found in establishing a MANRRS is that because we have so few students of color at UVM, many of them are pulled in several directions with academics, leadership and extra-curricular activities, and working part-time to earn money. There is not much time for the students to add another activity. We hope that we
will be able to convey the importance of MANRRS to our students and that it is an important organization to be part of for their professional and career development.
Impacts
Ultimately, it is our hope that our Scholars will continue their education with graduate degrees in the environmental, food, or agricultural sciences. These future professors, researchers and environmental practitioners would serve as role models to encourage more multicultural students to pursue degrees in these fields, starting the cycle all over again.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 12/15/05 to 12/15/06
Outputs
We recruited four Scholars over this past year of the grant who enrolled in The Rubenstein School in Fall 2006. We purposely held one scholarship for a student that we expect to enroll in fall 2007. The four students (Kizette Ortiz-Vanger, Maria Tsuji, Mima Wellington, and Amanda Wong) have all just completed their first semester in The Rubenstein School. Grades will not be available for their first semester work until the first week of January 2007. Kizette Ortiz-Vanger and Mima Wellington are both from the High School for Environmental Studies, The Rubenstein School's partnership school in New York City. Maria Tsuji is from Dublin, OH and is an Honors College student. Amanda Wong is from Seattle, Washington. We expect that all of the students will have done relatively well in their first semester of college. PRODUCTS: Four Scholars are currently being funded on this project. High school juniors from the High School for Environmental Studies who were interested in
the environment visited the UVM campus in April 2006. Marie Vea-Fagnant and Maria Erb, two of this project's co-PDs, and two of our current students (one a Multicultural Scholar) took recruitment trips to the High School for Environmental Studies, the American Museum of Natural History Pre-College Program, and the Brooklyn Academy for Science and the Environment, all in New York City. Special Rubenstein School Diversity Task events were sponsored to promote diversity and foster a positive climate for our students of color. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. The first formal meeting for Multicultural Scholars to meet with other Multicultural Scholars and students of color in the School was held at the end of November 2006. Letters will be sent to all students of color who are either prospects or applicants to The Rubenstein School for fall 2007 to recruit one of them for the 5th scholarship on this grant. OUTCOMES: The
immediate effects is that the four Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The UVM Communications Office is currently working on a press release that will go to the public regarding The Rubenstein School's recently USDA Multicultural Scholars Grant awards that bumped the total of funds raised for diversity to over $1 million. We also are going to announce in that article the establishment of an endowed Multicultural Scholarship named in honor of Donald H. DeHayes, the PD on this project, that will continue the work of the USDA Multicultural Scholars program should that funding ever be discontinued in the future. The announcement of this endowment will appear in our Alumni Newsletter so we hope that will generate support by our Multicultural Scholars alumni who are out in the workforce. FUTURE INITIATIVES: We will continue to monitor the Scholars' progress and assist them with
counseling and appropriate resources to help them be a success. In spring 2007, The Rubenstein School Dean's Office will meet the Multicultural Scholars and the other students of color and their allies in The Rubenstein School to provide support and an opportunity for the students to get to know one another better. We will work to ensure that these four Scholars on this grant will get to attend the Multicultural Scholars Conference in fall 2007. We are also actively recruiting for the 5th Scholar for this grant who will enroll in fall 2007.
Impacts
The impact of the project is that we would create a large cohort of multicultural students in The Rubenstein School. We would ultimately like to see these students pursue careers in the environment, which would then diversify the workforce in this field.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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