Virginia Tech® home

AGEP ALLIANCE

an african american professor speaks to his students in a classroom setting. his body language and facial expression indicate passion and intensity
AGEP Alliance Goal Program Description Meet the Alliance Team Meet the Members of Our Advisory Boards Contact Us Funded by the NSF
HI Bridge to Academia Fellowship Program Who Should Apply? Application Process Application Announcements Meet the Fellows
HI Bridge to Academia Faculty Mentoring Program Roles and Responsibilities Sign Up

The AGEP Alliance Model for Advancing the Faculty Careers of Underrepresented Minority STEM Doctoral Candidates who are Instructors at Historically Black Universities

 

AGEP ALLIANCE GOAL

The goal of The AGEP Alliance Model for Advancing the Faculty Careers of Underrepresented STEM Doctoral Candidates who are Instructors at Historically Black Universities is to increase the number of underrepresented STEM faculty with PhDs in the professoriate. 

The AGEP Alliance will develop, implement, study, and disseminate an AGEP Alliance model to provide faculty professional development and career preparation activities to African Americans and other historically underrepresented STEM doctoral candidates, who are instructors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), for completion of their PhD degree and progression in early career faculty positions.  The alliance team includes faculty from Virginia Tech (VT), Morgan State University (MSU), Virginia State University (VSU), Jackson State University (JSU) and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). HBCU ABD candidates who are working as instructors will be supported in overcoming sociocultural professional barriers to completing their PhDs and continue on into the professoriate.

multiracial students work together on school work. we do not see their faces

 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Alliance’s HBCU Instructors Bridge to Academia Project (HI Bridge) consists of model activities identified from the literature as significant to supporting doctoral students in being fully socialized into the academy.  These model activities include a peer cohort for collaboration, career preparation activities and alumni follow-up meetings.   The HI Bridge project also includes a faculty mentoring component that in addition to their responsibilities of mentoring the ABD candidates, the faculty mentors participate in professional development sessions and potential networking with faculty mentor peers in their cohort groups.   HI Bridge organizes the model activities into two programs, the HI Bridge to Academia Fellowship Program and the HI Bridge to Academia Faculty Mentoring Program.

HI Bridge Fellowship Program

The HI Bridge Fellowship Program is a cohort program in which, during each year, 12 ABD candidates who are instructors at HBCUs, will be engaged in career preparation activities such as research seminars, research advising, faculty mentoring, research presentations, peer collaboration, networking, early career professional development sessions, and alumni follow-up meetings.  These activities are designed to support the candidates in completing their PhDs, and also prepare them for success in their faculty careers.

  • Research Advising
  • Faculty Mentoring
  • $2,000 Yearly stipend ($4,000 across two years)
  • Peer cohort
  • VT Summer Institute travel and lodging
    • Research presentations
    • Professional development opportunities
  • Networking opportunities
  • Certificate of Completion

HI Bridge Faculty Mentoring Program

The HI Bridge Faculty Mentoring Program is a cohort program in which, during each year, 12 faculty members will provide the research guidance and professional mentoring necessary for supporting the ABD candidates in completing their PhDs and developing as scholars.  Faculty mentors will participate in faculty mentoring professional development and faculty mentor peer collaboration sessions that are oriented toward developing effective strategies for mentoring doctoral students and early career faculty in achieving success in academia, with emphasis on faculty from underrepresented groups.

  • $2,000 stipend
  • VT Summer Institute travel and lodging
  • Peer faculty mentor cohort
  • Faculty mentoring professional development
  • Networking opportunities

MEET THE ALLIANCE TEAM MEMBERS

dr. brenda brand smiles into the camera. she is african american, her black hair is cut short, and she is smiling
Dr. Brenda Brand serves as the project director for the AGEP Alliance HI Bridge to Academia Program
dr. david kniola is a white man. in this black and white picture, he is lecturing at the front of a classroom
Dr. David Kniola leads the HI Bridge to Academia Fellows research program. He conducts individual and group sessions to support students in completing their dissertation research.
dr. ernst is a white man with blue eyes and brown hair. he wears a blue suit with a white shirt and a multi hued blue striped tie
Dr. Jeremy Ernst leads the parallel study and the ABD instructor participant study for the Alliance. He also is the organizer and manager of the Alliance’s Faculty Mentoring program.
dr. faulkner is an african american woman. She wears a brown suit with a dark brown tank top. Her hair is braided and hangs past her shoulders. she is smiling confidently
Dr. Brandy Faulkner leads the Summer Research Institute and early career professional development activities for the HI Bridge to Academia Fellows.
dr. rockward is a bald african american man. he wears a navy suit with a crisp white shirt and lavender patterned tie.
Dr. Willie Rockward serves as a regional director in which he manages and recruits HI Bridge to Academia Fellows
dr. ndip is an african american woman. she is wearing a chanel style black and white suit as she sits confidently at her desk
Dr. Grace Ndip serves as a regional director in which she manages and recruits HI Bridge to Academia Fellows
dr. talley is a young african american woman with a friendly smile, side parted hair and silver hoops in her ears.
Dr. Jana Talley serves as a regional director in which she manages and recruits HI Bridge to Academia Fellows
dr. odour is an african american woman. she smiles confidently at us as she leans towards us, her crossed arms balanced on a stair rail. her sweater is orange and her tank top is white
Dr. Kenya Oduor is the External Evaluator. She utilizes an iterative DBIR approach to ensure continuous improvement of the Model and Alliance Team development.
Jeanine Wilder is a young hispanic woman. she gazes into the camera with confidence, her long dark hair is parted on the side and is tucked behind her right ear
Ms. Jeanine Wilder is a member of the External Evaluation team. She assists the Team with project management, information management, and logistics activities.
xiao is a chinese woman. wearing a maroon sweater, she sits comfortably on an honorary bench in the VT Hahn Horticulture center. she is smiling lightly. her black hair is captured in a low ponytail
Ms. Xiao Zhu serves as a project coordinator for the AGEP Alliance HI Bridge to Academia Program.
lezly is a young african american woman with a friendly smile, side parted hair and dangling rose quartz earrings.
Dr. Lezly Taylor serves as the project coordinator for the AGEP Alliance HI Bridge to Academia Program.

MEET THE MEMBERS OF OUR ADVISORY BOARDS

THE INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

  • Dr. Karen Depauw
  • Dr. Justina Osa
  • Dr. Hongtao Yu
  • Dr. Wilbur L. Walters Jr.
  • Ms. Rachel Gabriele  

THE EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD

  • Dr. Andre Green
  • Dr. John Weidman
  • Dr. Chris Botanga
  • Dr. Jarret Landor

CONTACT US

If you have questions about the HI Bridge to Academia Program, please contact:

Brenda R. Brand 
Professor 
Director of Program
bbrand@vt.edu

Lezly Taylor
Project Coordinator
lezly8@vt.edu

Award Number: 2015286

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Award Number 2015286. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

HI Bridge to Academia Fellowship Program
HI Bridge to Academia Faculty Mentoring Program