Progress 09/01/10 to 12/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience:During the three years of project activity, Northeastern Illinois University undergraduate STEM majors were the target audience. The demographics of NEIU's student body is reflected in the make-up of the target audience: 32% of our students are Hispanic, 62% are low-income, and 64% are first-generatoin college students. (In 2013, the sole participant was CREAR scholarship recipient Patricia Jaimes, an undergraduate Earth Science major who graduated in May 2015.Patricia is Hispanic, and a first generation college student.) Changes/Problems:Challenges: We did not do the proposed curricular modifications and development of NEIU's biology, earth science, and chemistry curriculum in partnership with UIUC College of ACES faculty. This was going to be done to ensure the preparedness of NEIU students to join research projects at UIUC-ACES; however, it turned out to not be necessary at all for the students to be successful in their research in UIUC labs and fieldwork. This success is demonstrated by the outcomes described in the Accomplishments section earlier in this report. It was also very expensive and logistically difficult to have NEIU students stay on UIUC's campus for their summer research projects, and some found their experience at UIUC isolating and disappointing. It should be emphasized, though, that the experiences Northeastern students had working with their faculty mentors during the CREAR Project were overwhelmingly positive. We had significant unspent funds in the grant after Year 2 because of the above-mentioned lack of curricular development and because we did not use grant funds to pay for clerical support staff as budgeted (though the staff support was still provided, they were paid by state funds in their usual salary line). Changes: We used the unspent funds to extend the activities of the grant for another year, expand the number of students supported, and extend the partnership and pipeline we were developing beyond UIUC-ACES. Instead of 16 students, over the course of the entire project we engaged 41 NEIU students in research and internship opportunities in agricultural and environmental sciences. In addition to opportunities in research labs and fieldwork at NEIU and UIUC-ACES, we sent students to do summer research projects at the National Soil Erosion Laboratory, the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. By moving our unspent funds from curriculum development and administrative salaries to student support, we were able to serve more than double the number of the proposed students. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Outcome 3: Student participants will have improved research skills - specifically, design, protocol, process, methods, data integrity, ethics, and documentation. Measured by the average rating by the research mentors of student research skills on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high): Understood the topics or research problem. 4.67 Followed oral instructions appropriately in the research setting. 4.33 Clearly and accurately summarized the context, procedures, results, and meaning of their work in an oral or poster presentation. 4.17 Kept a detailed and properly completed field/lab notebook consistent with the style and expectations of the relevant sub- discipline of biology 4.33 Prepared clearly organized poster elements or visual aids for a podium presentation, or the student prepared a clearly organized research-style paper. 4.50 Accessed, read, and discussed research articles from primary literature at proficiency appropriate for his or her educational level. 4.17 Student carried out reactions/experiments/assays (or any other pertinent duty) independently after appropriate training. 4.67 Student integrated technical knowledge and skills from courses into the research environment. 4.70 Student was able to analyze the data appropriately for his or her educational level. 4.08 Student integrated findings with relevant literature. 4.25 Student was able to propose what could be done next to continue the research. 4.67 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination on the project itself: The CREAR Scholarship student, who also participated in two summers of CREAR-funded summer research (at UIUC and Midewin Prairie) was the student speaker for the 2015 Northeastern Illinois University commencement exercises. Her speech can be seen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQfjY-cqoj4 and has been publicized on the website of Michigan State University, where she will be starting her Ph.D. in Geology in the fall of 2015. One CREAR partner, Adam Davis from UIUC, also wrote about the project for the cover story of a USDA publication (March 2014 issue of MEDLEY). The newsletter and article can be viewed at http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/50000000/MWADiversityEOCouncil/March%202014%20MEDLEY.pdf . The Project Director also shared a poster presentation on CREAR at the 2012 USDA Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grant Program Project Directors 2012 Conference, held at UT-Pan American. Publications and presentations related to the research funded by the CREAR project: In year 1 of the project, dissemination included the preparation, submission, and acceptance of five abstracts for the annual SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicagos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) conference, and nine presentations at the Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) Student Research Symposium held on NEIU's campus. In year 2, dissemination included the preparation, submission, and acceptance of 8 abstracts for the annual SACNAS conference, and 16 presentations at the Student Center for Science Engagement(SCSE) Student Research Symposium held on NEIU's campus. Other presentations: Astudillo-Scalia, Y., J. Shaier, S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. Wetlands Wisconsin Association Conference, Lake Geneva, WI. Astudillo-Scalia, Y., S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Intra-population variability in microsatellite markers of cattails species. Ivy-Plus Stem Symposium & Workshops for Diverse Scholars, Philadelphia, PA Astudillo-Scalia, Y., J. Shaier, S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2011. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. SACNAS National Conference, San Jose, CA. Blasini, D., M.J. Rios, Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Olfelt, and P. Geddes. 2012. Geographic variation in microsatellite markers from cattail plant species throughout the Midwest. SACNAS National Conference, Seattle, WA. Wunderle, S., Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Shaier, P. Geddes, J. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Field to lab and back: Molecular techniques to identify invasive cattails. NEIU Annual Student Symposium, Chicago, IL. Wunderle, S., Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Shaier, P. Geddes, J. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. NEIU's Green Energy Conference, Chicago, IL. Publications can be found under the Products section of this report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
CREAR supported cohorts of 11 NEIU students in the summer of 2011, and 21 students in the summer of 2012. Four of those 21 students interned at ACES at UIUC. The remaining students interned with NEIU faculty. As a result of grant extensions, NEIU was able to support an additional cohort in the summer of 2014. The nine students who participated in the research internship during the summer of 2014 were dispersed across four sites, as follows: 1 student went to NACAUR in Peoria, IL, 5 students went to NSERL in Indianapolis, IN, 1 student went to the Midewin Prairie in Wilmington, IL, and 2 students worked with faculty at NEIU. The total of 41 students who were supported to engage in agricultural and environmental science projects far exceeded the original goal of 16 students. Some of the outcomes of this support fall under Training opportunities described in the field below. Outcome 1: Student participants will have new awareness of graduate and career opportunities related to agricultural sciences. ) As shown in focus groups with the students: All students from the 2011 cohort expressed greater confidence and/or interest in pursuing a graduate in a STEM field. One student who participated in an ACES research project and one from NEIU each expressed specific interest in agriculture or agricultural (food) sciences. The 2014 CREAR students completed a "post-assessment" in which they were asked to rate the extent to which their experience doing summer research contributed to their awareness of graduate and career opportunities related to agricultural and environmental sciences, on a scale of 1 to 4, where 1= "not at all" and 4 = "a lot." Of those who responded, five indicated 4 (a lot), and one indicated 3 (some). In open-ended comments, three made specific reference to soil science, with two connecting soil science and agricultural science. Four of the five students identified specific new areas of awareness and interest in graduate studies and/or career in sciences, as follows: environmental and agricultural sciences (2), government research (1), research with the USDA (1) Outcome 2: Student participants will have increased knowledge of options for life/career paths, including careers within the USDA. This was demonstrated in focus groups with the students, all of whom commented on their intentions to pursue careers in science, with two specifying fields related to soil science and/or agricultural science. In focus groups, the project leads commented that all the students participating in UIUC summer research gained such knowledge through their experience. In addition, during the post-summer research debrief, students described acquiring new knowledge about and appreciation for the varied work involved in agriculture and the USDA. In a post-project survey, the 2012 students were able to identify, on average, 2-3 additional career options in agricultural or environmental science compared to in the pre-project survey. Moreover,4 student respondents could identify at least two additional, specific government or university research agencies associated with those career options, compared to the pre-survey. Outcome 3: Professional and program linkages will be established between undergrad STEM disciplines at NEIU and graduate programs at UIUC While it was not an explicit objective of the CREAR project to develop partnerships with USDA agencies, in the final (extension) year of CREAR, the project lead team shifted their internship collaborations from UIUC to partner with several research agencies engaged in agriculture-related research. The rationales for this shift included: (a) the logistical challenges entailed in setting up internships with UIUC partners, (b) the challenges the lead team had faced establishing common expectations for the mentoring of undergraduates across the institutions. Despite the decision of the project leads to shift its partnerships from UIUC to other agencies involved in agricultural and environmental science research, in the end-of-project focus group one of the faculty leads noted that UIUC partner faculty had submitted a grant proposal that would support a pipeline for NEIU students to attend graduate school at UIUC, focusing on animal and plant sciences. More generally, the project leads identified the ways in which the CREAR project contributed to a broader collaborative relationship across NEIU and UIUC based in the mutual commitment to supporting a pipeline of students (and in particular Latino students) from NEIU into UIUC STEM graduate programs. Project leads also identified the qualities of those agencies that facilitated positive research internship experiences for CREAR students, notably the enthusiasm of the agency director, the research experiences at these agencies tended to integrate field and laboratory experiences, research mentors/leaders had an interest in or commitment to training and development of the interns, and mentorship of students by partners complemented the close mentoring of students by NEIU faculty. Feedback from UIUC and federal agency partners about the nature and value of the partnership was overwhelmingly positive. Five of six survey respondents representing four partnering institutions/organizations described the quality of communication and collaboration in positive terms. Survey respondents described communication with the CREAR project leads as "excellent," "prompt," and "appropriate," characterizing the quality of the communication in terms of consistently addressing issues that arose in a timely fashion. When asked about the quality of their collaboration with the CREAR project leads, survey respondents were similarly positive. Three respondents characterized the collaboration as worthwhile, meaningful, or effective, and two from institutions other than NEIU identified as important the effective preparation and support of the students interns. One respondent expressed appreciation for the ability to mentor the NEIU students who, because of being somewhat older undergraduates, were appreciated for their maturity and responsibility. Outcome4 : Students will pursue graduate studies and/or careersin agricultural or environmental sciences: We were able to track fifteen of the funded students past graduation and of the 15, we know of 7 enrolled in graduate studies (master's or Ph.D.) in areas including Geology, Integrative Biology, Biophysics, Environmental Life Sciences, and one in Pharmacy. Two of the 15 graduated students are preparing to apply to PhD programs in Ecology.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The main output of the CREAR Project has been the maintenance of a network of NEIU and ACES-UIUC faculty, working together to support student success in STEM fields related to agricultural and environmental sciences. This support has come in the form of closely mentored research experiences for 4 students at ACES-UIUC and for 12 students at NEIU, followed by visits to the ACES-UIUC campus by NEIU faculty and students to meet with ACES-UIUC faculty and students and learn about the projects undertaken by the NEIU students there. Strong connections among faculty have been formed and long-term mentorship collaborations are being explored. Students have demonstrated their expanded understanding of opportunities available to them in agricultural and environmental sciences, both in graduate school and in career options. Further, a group of 4 students were supported by the CREAR grant to do summer internships at the USDA National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory at Purdue University. A website was created (http://www.neiu.edu/~ncwrinkl/CREAR.html) to share the mission of the CREAR project, recruit students and faculty to apply for research funding, and give contact information for faculty. Dissemination of the output of the CREAR project included the preparation, submission, and acceptance of 8 abstracts for the annual SACNAS conference, and 16 presentations at the Student Center for Science Engagement(SCSE)Student Research Symposium held on NEIU's campus. These acceptances occurred during the project reporting period; however, the presentations occurred in the beginning of the 3rd year of the project and will be reported in that year. Further, the Project Director presented a poster at the NIFA-USDA Project Director's meeting at UT-Pan American in June, 2012. Other presentations included: Astudillo-Scalia, Y., J. Shaier, S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. Wetlands Wisconsin Association Conference, Lake Geneva, WI. Astudillo-Scalia, Y., S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Intra-population variability in microsatellite markers of cattails species. Ivy-Plus Stem Symposium & Workshops for Diverse Scholars, Philadelphia, PA Astudillo-Scalia, Y., J. Shaier, S. Wunderle, P. Geddes, J.P. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2011. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. SACNAS National Conference, San Jose, CA. Blasini, D., M.J. Rios, Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Olfelt, and P. Geddes. 2012. Geographic variation in microsatellite markers from cattail plant species throughout the Midwest. SACNAS National Conference, Seattle, WA. Wunderle, S., Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Shaier, P. Geddes, J. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Field to lab and back: Molecular techniques to identify invasive cattails. NEIU Annual Student Symposium, Chicago, IL. Wunderle, S., Y. Astudillo-Scalia, J. Shaier, P. Geddes, J. Olfelt, and A. Schirmer. 2012. Use of microsatellites in the identification of hybridizing cattail species in the Typha genus. NEIU's Green Energy Conference, Chicago, IL. PARTICIPANTS: 1) Nancy C. Wrinkle, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mathematics. Dr. Wrinkle served as the Project Director. She organized development of recruitment materials and constructed the website. She served as the fiscal agent, was responsible for organizing all field trips, recruited and facilitated planning with UIUC staff and faculty who mentored the NEIU students on research projects at UIUC, and organized the review of research applications by NEIU faculty and students to participate in research projects at NEIU. 2) Pamela Geddes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology. Dr. Geddes also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. Dr. Geddes also supervised the research project of several of the NEIU students. 3) Jean M. Hemzacek, M.S., Instructor of Earth Science. Ms. Hemzacek also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. 4) Laura Sanders, Ph.D., Professor of Earth Science. Dr. Sanders also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. 5) Marilyn Saavedra-Leyva, Administrative Assistant. Ms. Saavedra-Leyva was responsible for managing flow of student paperwork. She also completed all purchasing paperwork and took charge of reservations for vehicles and accommodations. 6) Adam Davis, Ph.D., Ecologist at ACES-UIUC and USDA-ARS Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit Director; George F. Czapar, Ph.D., Director, Center for Watershed Science Illinois State Water Survey - Prairie Research Institute, UIUC; Maria Villamil, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Crop Sciences at UIUC; Elvira deMejia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Food Chemistry And Food Toxicology at UIUC; each supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students at UIUC. 10) Joel Olfelt, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology at NEIU; Frederick Prete, Ph.D., Instructor of Biology at NEIU; Aaron Schirmer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology at NEIU; Paolo Acioli, Ph.D., Professor of Physics at NEIU; each supervised the research project of several of the NEIU students. 14) NEIU Students Davys Blasini, Maria Rios, Will Freyman, Sergio Guerrero, Max Hansen, Thomas McLaughlin, Steven Roothaan, Caroline Williams, Will Bogue, Edgar Mantes, Andrew Urdiales, Barbara Popkiewicz, Angelina Jaimes, Jose Zavala, Patricia Jaimes, Daniel Arrecis, Dyln Barkstrom, Cindy Calderon, Colleen Schwartz, Bri Yarger: participated in research experiences either at UIUC or at NEIU or received funding for housing for internships at Purdue University. Some also received funds to prepare a poster for presentation of their projects at conferences. Partner Organizations: UIUC-ACES, USDA-NSERL at Purdue University. TARGET AUDIENCES: The ethnic composition of the students who participated in the research experiences and internships was as follows: nine Hispanic, one Asian, ten White. Twelve participants are male; eight are female. Although we did not collect data on this specifically, we know that many of the participants are first-generation college students, and most receive some type of financial aid. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Assessments in Year 1 revealed that our NEIU science majors were well prepared to successfully pursue applied science research with UIUC faculty in soil science, human nutrition, and crop science. At the same time, supporting students in doing research with faculty and bringing them to visit field sites and labs at UIUC and USDA sites proved to be highly effective tools for introducing them to opportunities in environmental and agricultural sciences. For these reasons, initial plans for NEIU faculty participants in the project to collaborate with faculty at UIUC on aligning NEIU's science curriculum to better prepare students for studying environmental and agricultural science were replaced with plans to fund more students and more student/faculty research groups in year 2, a change reflected in the increased number of student participants in Year 2 of the project. While this may be considered a significant deviation from one part of the approach of the project, the change clearly supports the mission of the project.
Impacts
After participating in the project, students reported increased awareness of the "importance of agriculture", of graduate school and career opportunities in agricultural and environmental science, and many have changed their future plans. Relationships have been formed among UIUC faculty in agricultural, consumer, and environmental sciences with NEIU faculty in biology, chemistry, earth science, and mathematics, with the goal of supporting CREAR students from NEIU as they apply to (and hopefully attend) graduate school at UIUC.
Publications
- Eunsoo Choe, Christine Hayot Carbonero, Kelly Mulvaney, A. Lane Rayburn, and Rita H. Mumm (2012). Improving in vivo maize doubled haploid production efficiency through early detection of false positives. Plant Breeding. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0523.2012.01962.x
- Prete, Frederick R., Justin L. Komito, Salina Dominguez, Gavin Svenson, LeoLin Y. Lopez, Alex Guillen, Nicole Bogdanivich (2011). Visual stimuli that elicit appetitive behaviors in three morphologically distinct species of praying mantis. J Comp Physiol A. DOI 10.1007/s00359-011-0649-2.
- Prete, Frederick R., Salina Dominguez, Justin L. Komito, Robert Theis, Jessica M. Dominguez, Lawrence E. Hurd, and Gavin J. Svenson (2012). Appetitive Responses to Computer-Generated Visual Stimuli by Female Rhombodera basalis, Deroplatys lobata, Hierodula membranacea, and Miomantis sp. (Insecta: Mantodea) . J Insect Behav. DOI 10.1007/s10905-012-9340-x .
- Prete, Frederick R., Robert Theis, Justin L. Komito, Jessica Dominguez, Salina Dominguez, Gavin Svenson, Frank Wieland (2012). Visual stimuli that elicit visual tracking, approaching and striking behavior from an unusual praying mantis, Euchomenella macrops (Insecta: Mantodea). Journal of Insect Physiology 58 (2012) 648 to 659.
|
Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The main output of the CREAR Project has been the creation of a network of NEIU and ACES-UIUC faculty, working together to support student success in STEM fields related to agricultural and environmental sciences. This support has come in the form of closely mentored research experiences for 4 students at ACES-UIUC and for 5 students at NEIU, followed by visits to the ACES-UIUC campus by NEIU faculty and students to meet with ACES-UIUC faculty and students and learn about the projects undertaken by the NEIU students there. Strong connections among faculty have been formed and long-term mentorship collaborations are being explored. Students have demonstrated their expanded understanding of opportunities available to them in agricultural and environmental sciences, both in graduate school and in career options. A website was created (http://www.neiu.edu/~ncwrinkl/CREAR.html) to share the mission of the CREAR project, recruit students and faculty to apply for research funding, and give contact information for faculty who can answer questions about the project. Dissemination of the output of the CREAR project included the preparation, submission, and acceptance of five abstracts for the annual SACNAS conference, and nine presentations at the Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) Student Research Symposium held on NEIU's campus. These acceptances occurred during the project reporting period; however, the presentations occurred in the beginning of the second year of the project and will be reported in that year. PARTICIPANTS: 1) Nancy C. Wrinkle, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mathematics. Dr. Sanders served as the Project Director. She organized development of recruitment materials and constructed the website. She served as the fiscal agent. She was responsible for organizing all field trips and visits by USDA personnel. 2) Pamela Geddes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology. Dr. Geddes is the alternate fiscal agent, and took charge of the project from 9/10 to 1/11, while Dr. Wrinkle was on FMLA leave. Dr. Geddes also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. Dr. Geddes also supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 3) Jean M. Hemzacek, M.S., Instructor of Earth Science. Ms. Hemzacek also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. 4) Laura Sanders, Ph.D., Professor of Earth Science. Dr. Sanders also developed recruiting materials and application forms, recruited students for the project, evaluated applications, and assisted in assessments. 5) Marilyn Saavedra-Leyva, Administrative Assistant. Ms. Saavedra-Leyva was responsible for managing flow of student paperwork, including hiring forms, timesheets, paychecks, and all other non-scientific student concerns related to completion of their assignments. She also completed all purchasing paperwork and took charge of reservations for vehicles and accommodations. 6) Adam Davis, Ph.D., Ecologist at ACES-UIUC and USDA-ARS Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit Director. Dr. Davis supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 7) Rita Mumm, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Crop Sciences and Director of the Plant Breeding Center at UIUC. Dr. Mumm supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 8) Maria Villamil, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Crop Sciences at UIUC. Dr. Villamil supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 9) Elvira deMejia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Food Chemistry And Food Toxicology at UIUC. Dr. deMejia supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 10) Joel Olfelt, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology at NEIU. Dr. Olfelt supervised the research project of three of the NEIU students. 11) Frederick Prete, Ph.D., Instructor of Biology at NEIU. Dr. Prete supervised the research project of one of the NEIU students. 12) Students Nelson Gonzalez, Brian Teichert, Jessica Dominguez, Yaiyr Astudillo-Scalia, Peter Carrizales, Angela Varela, Ivan Reyes, Kristen Veldman, Kelly Mulvaney, Rachit Mehta. These NEIU students received stipends to participate in research experiences in the project, either at ACES-UIUC or at NEIU, along with funds to prepare a poster for presentation of their projects. Students worked a minimum of twenty hours a week for ten weeks. Partner Organizations: UIUC College of ACES. TARGET AUDIENCES: The ethnic composition of the students who participated in the research experiences and field trips was as follows: seven Hispanic, one Asian, two White. Five participants are male; five are female. Although we did not collect data on this specifically, we know that many of the participants are first-generation college students, and most receive some type of financial aid. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Assessments revealed that our NEIU science majors were well prepared to successfully pursue applied science research with UIUC faculty in soil science, human nutrition, and crop science. At the same time, supporting students in doing research with faculty and bringing them to visit field sites and labs at UIUC and USDA sites proved to be highly effective tools for introducing them to opportunities in environmental and agricultural sciences. For these reasons, initial plans for NEIU faculty participants in the project to collaborate with faculty at UIUC on aligning NEIU's science curriculum to better prepare students for studying environmental and agricultural science were replaced with plans to fund more students and more student/faculty research groups in year 2. While this may be considered a significant deviation from one part of the approach of the project, the change clearly supports the mission of the project.
Impacts
After participating in the project, students reported increased awareness of the "importance of agriculture", of graduate school and career opportunities in agricultural and environmental science, and many have changed their future plans. One has reported changing his interest in graduate school from pharmacy school to food science, another from training to become a physician's assistant to pursuing a Ph.D. Another student plans to pursue a graduate degree in conservation genetics. Relationships have been formed among UIUC faculty in agricultural, consumer, and environmental sciences with NEIU faculty in biology, chemistry, earth science, and mathematics, with the goal of supporting CREAR students from NEIU as they apply to (and hopefully attend) graduate school at UIUC. Insitutionalization or other formalizing of the pipeline created by CREAR will be considered in year 2.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|