Progress 12/01/06 to 11/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Five Scholars were funded on this project. In April 2011, 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 Jericho Research Forest 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. Our SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) Chapter of the Ecological Society of America, was started in 2010, 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 on this grant have been active on campus in the Honors College and the Food Salvage Club, doing internships for organizations such as the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, attending the Metta Earth Leadership Training Program, and studying abroad through the School for Field Studies Center for Rainforest Studies in Australia. Guest speakers were brought to campus to talk about diversity and environmental justice issues. This year included special visits by: performance artists Climbing PoeTree, 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. 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. PDs Mary Watzin, Emilie Riddle & Marie Vea-Fagnant have been working closely with The Nature Conservancy to investigate establishing a recruitment and retention program for underrepresented students. The Nature Conservancy has received a planning grant and is creating a proposal that would connect high school students to partner institutions, and then on to jobs in the environmental field. PARTICIPANTS: Two Scholars on this grant started in fall 2007 and graduated in May 2011. One of these Scholars was from Kendall Park, NJ; the other was from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC. The three remaining Scholars on this grant are in their senior year. Two of them started in fall 2008, and one transferred to UVM in fall 2009. One Scholar went to high school in Beirut, Lebanon; one Scholar is from Waitsfield, Vermont; the transfer student is from Highland Park, Illinois. All three of these Scholars are doing very well academically, and are progressing towards their degrees. Two are expected to graduate in May 2012, the other is expected to graduate in the 2012-13 academic year. 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 continue to send Scholars to the ESA Annual Meeting to network and open up possibilities for graduate programs and future employment opportunities. In addition, the Rubenstein School will continue to build on the success of the 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 our students to network with scientists and identify research internships. TARGET AUDIENCES: Our primary target audience for this project is the students from underrepresented groups who are current Scholars on this grant. They are pursuing an education to become environmental professionals through traditional classroom instruction, labs and field experiences, and other experiential learning opportunities that may include: research, internships, jobs, service-learning courses, and study abroad. Our secondary target audience includes high school students we are recruiting to attend the University of Vermont. Many of the students we work with through the High School for Environmental Studies and the Nature Conservancy are multicultural students from underrepresented groups. Another target audience is high school students in the Burlington area. We are working with current Scholars to do outreach on environment and natural resources issues to students from underrepresented groups at Burlington High School, and are building on the budding partnership with the Shades of Ebony tutoring and mentoring program. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The immediate effect is that the five Scholars have had funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. One recently graduated Scholar on this grant is a GIS Specialist at Utility Risk Management Corporation. Another recently graduated Scholar, 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. We continue to demonstrate increasing levels of success in preparing our Scholars for entry into graduate schools and careers in the field of environment and natural resources: four have earned graduate degrees (1 at UVM), two recently graduated Scholars are enrolled in graduate school (1 at UVM), one is a Vermont State Representative, and one is a Program Officer for U.S. Climate and Environment at the Institute for Sustainable Communities. 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 12/01/09 to 11/30/10
Outputs
We have two Scholars who are in their senior year, and started in fall 2007. One of these Scholars is from Kendall Park, NJ; the other is from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC. Both of these Scholars are doing very well academically, and have shown excellent progress towards their degrees. Three of the Scholars on this grant are in their junior year. Two of them started in fall 2008, and one transferred to UVM in fall 2009. One Scholar went to high school in Beirut, Lebanon; one Scholar is from Waitsfield, Vermont; the transfer student is from Highland Park, Illinois. All three of these Scholars are doing very well academically, and are progressing towards their degrees. PRODUCTS: Five Scholars are currently being 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: 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. One recently graduated Scholar, 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 recently graduated Scholar 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. We plan to continue to send Scholars to the ESA Annual Meeting to network and open up possibilities for graduate programs and future employment opportunities. In addition, the Rubenstein School will continue to build on the success of the 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 our 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 12/01/08 to 11/30/09
Outputs
We have two Scholars who are in their junior year, and started in fall 2007. One of these Scholars is from Kendall Park, NJ; the other is from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC. Both of these Scholars are doing very well academically, and have shown excellent progress towards their degrees. Three of the Scholars on this grant are in their sophomore year. Two of them started in fall 2008, and one transferred to UVM in fall 2009. One Scholar went to high school in Beirut, Lebanon; the other Scholar is from Waitsfield, Vermont. Both Scholars are doing very well academically, and are progressing towards their degrees. The transfer student is from Highland Park, Illinois. She is transitioning well, and will likely do very well academically this first semester. PRODUCTS: Five 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 five Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. One current Scholar 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 current Scholar has participated in a Research internship through the USDA Forest Service. A current Scholar on this grant 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 12/01/07 to 11/30/08
Outputs
We have two Scholars who are in their sophomore year, and started in fall 2007. One of these Scholars is from Kendall Park, NJ; the other is from our partnership school, the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC. Both of these Scholars are doing very well academically, and have shown excellent progress towards their degrees. The remaining three Scholars on this grant started this fall 2008. One Scholar went to high school in Beirut, Lebanon; the second Scholar is from Worcester, Massachusetts; the third Scholar is from Waitsfield, Vermont. All three of the new Scholars have done very well this first semester, and are in good academic standing. PRODUCTS: Five 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 12/01/06 to 11/30/07
Outputs
We have two Scholars who started in fall 2007 and have appointed three additional Scholars who will begin in fall 2008. Maya Thomas, one of the enrolled Scholars, is from Kendall Park, NJ. Shi Chao Zheng, the other enrolled Scholar, is from the High School for Environmental Studies, The Rubenstein School's partnership school in New York City. Both of the students have done well this first semester and are in good academic standing.
PRODUCTS: Two Scholars are currently being funded on this project and the other three appointed Scholars will be enrolling in fall 2008. 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 two Scholars have funding that assists them in covering expenses associated with being a student at the University of Vermont. This will also apply for the students who will be enrolling in fall 2008. 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 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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