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In this chapter, we present our ongoing efforts in developing and sustaining interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate programs at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T) – a state-supported HBCU and National Science Foundation (NSF) Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Institutional Implementation Project grantee. Through three rounds of NSF HBCU-UP implementation grants, a concerted effort has been made in developing interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs in geophysical and environmental science (in round 1), geospatial, computational, and information science (in round 2), and mathematical and computational biology (in round 3) on NCA&T campus. We first present a brief history and background information about the interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs developed and sustained at NCA&T, giving rationales on how these programs had been conceived, and summarizing what have been achieved. Next we give a detailed description on the development of undergraduate research infrastructure including building research facilities through multiple and leveraged funding sources, and engaging a core of committed faculty mentors and research collaborators. We then present, as case studies, some sample interdisciplinary research projects in which STEM undergraduate students were engaged and project outcomes. Successes associated to our endeavor in developing undergraduate research programs as well as challenges and opportunities on implementing and sustaining these efforts are discussed. Finally, we discuss the impact of well-structured undergraduate research training on student success in terms of academic performance, graduation rate and continuing graduate study, and summarize many of the learnings we have gained from implementation and delivery of undergraduate research experiences at HBCUs.

Since joining Bennett College in 2008, Dr. Oh has directed 17 undergraduate students’ research projects in applied mathematics. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Dr. Oh grants from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP). The grants allowed her to mentor eight mathematics majors/minors in summer research for four years (2009–2012). Based on the four years of successful undergraduate research (UGR) experiences, she, together with Dr. Jan Rychtar from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), received funding for two summers National Research Experience for Undergraduates (NREUP), an activity of Mathematical Association of America (MAA), funded by the NSF in 2013 and 2014. During the six years of funded UGR, Bennett students made 33 presentations at regional, state, and national conferences; two teams won the outstanding student presentation award and first place for presentation. Three papers were published; two of them by Dr. Oh and one of them with a UGR coauthor. Three projects resulted in manuscripts. As a result of the UGR experiences in 2015, Dr. Oh received three more grants: the MAA NREUP, the NSF’s Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM), and the NSF’s Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematical Sciences (PIC Math) program awarded grants. A grant was also submitted to HBC-UP-Targeted Infusion Projects: Computational Mathematics at Bennett College.

Overall, the six years of UGR at Bennett College attained the three goals of: (1) enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research for a deeper appreciation in those disciplines; (2) supporting increased graduation rates in STEM undergraduate education of females; and (3) broadening participation in the nation’s STEM workforce as well as enrollments in graduate schools.

Typical undergraduate research programs involving HBCU students have several weaknesses including the short time of the students’ involvement in the research and the variable level of commitment of faculty mentors. Another issue at HBCUs is the lack of both start-up support for new faculty and external research support, which limits the quality of research projects and the pool of faculty mentors. We designed our NSF-funded undergraduate research program to be a professional development program to help faculty expand their research program and improve their mentoring skills, while at the same time involving undergraduates in research.

Faculty in STEM departments competed for Student Support Grants that provided support for research-related equipment, supplies, travel, and up to two students for one year. Faculty submitted proposals describing their research project, the role of students in the project, and their student mentoring plan. Faculty mentors could recruit their own students for the project, and both faculty mentors and students were required to commit to the research project for one year.

Outcomes of the program were very positive for both the faculty and the students. All of the involved students presented their research at conferences and several were co-authors on research publications. All but a few of the students continued working in research even after their time in the program was over. In addition, many of the supported faculty members were able to use the financial support as a springboard for successful applications for other grant programs.

Morgan State University (Morgan) is a leading undergraduate institution for black science and engineering doctoral degree recipients. Morgan also is a leader in the production of black engineering degree recipients in the United States. This chapter provides a historic overview of the major programs with a tie to the impact on the institutional metrics, a discussion of the process for developing researchers in science and engineering, and alumni perspectives. The undergraduate research development models used in engineering at Morgan are compared and contrasted with the life sciences and physical sciences. The programs focus on developing communities of engineering practice and communities of science, thereby enhancing students’ self-efficacy and resilience, shaping disciplinary identity, and creating learning communities. These approaches are critical for the success of minority students and are supported by the social science literature. Best practices have been adopted at varying levels by the School of Engineering, the School of Computer Mathematics and Natural Science and the Behavioral Science departments that have netted these Ph.D. outcomes including multiyear mentored research, research training courses, and participation in professional meetings. Multiple approaches to student development, when matched with the disciplinary culture, are shown to result in national impact.

The racial and ethnic representation of individuals in the workforce is not comparable to that in the general population. In 2010, African Americans constituted 12.6% of the US population. However, African Americans represented less than 5% of PhD recipients in 2010; African American women comprised less than 1% of the degrees awarded in that same year. These disappointing statistics have sparked conversations regarding the retention of underrepresented groups with a focus on what helps to ensure these individuals will transition through the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline. This chapter provides insight into the elements of the Spelman College learning environment that empower women of African descent to become agents of their success while facilitating their movement through the STEM pipeline. The chapter focuses on interventions and resources developed in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department to foster student-centered learning. Described herein are cocurricular strategies and course-based interventions are used synergistically to enhance student outcomes. The approach to curricular innovation is framed by theories related to community of inquiry (CoI), metacognition, agency, and self-regulated learning. Strategic institutional investments have underpinned these efforts. In addition to providing a snapshot of student outcomes, the authors discuss lessons learned along with the realities of engaging in this type of intellectual work to elucidate the feasibility of adopting similar strategies at other institutions.

Within the scope of broadening participation and developing diverse talents in STEM leadership, this paper aims to deliver a research study that explores faculty leaders’ caring intelligence as STEM leadership intelligence. STEM leadership intelligence is the knowledge, skills, traits and aptitude essential to effective leadership in STEM education.

A previously developed STEM caring-oriented academic managerial leadership framework (SCAMLF) and a typology of STEM faculty leadership styles were used to thematically analyze the caring intelligence and leadership qualities of STEM faculty leaders. Interview transcripts of 18 STEM faculty leaders at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), provided by the Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL), were used as data in this study.

The empirical evidence gained from this study highlighted important themes, descriptors and narratives for exploring caring intelligence and leadership intelligence of STEM faculty leadership in HBCUs.

Although the generalizability of the study is limited because of the sample size, STEM caring was found to be the most common dimension present in the reflections of participating STEM faculty leaders with diverse leadership styles. Implications for future research on STEM leadership intelligence were discussed.

Studying caring intelligence as a form of leadership intelligence provides a new and innovative means of assessing STEM leadership intelligence. Caring intelligence can be employed to predict the mindset, performance and behaviors of STEM faculty leaders.