Poster Abstracts

Kansas State University

Research, Mentoring, and Career Development Opportunities for Women and Underrepresented Groups at Kansas State University

Kansas State University (KSU) offers several programs designed to prepare women and underrepresented groups for excellence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In an effort to encourage our undergraduates to participate in research, KSU sponsors several programs that provide students the opportunity to work with a mentor on a research project or join an existing research team. Examples of programs offered throughout the academic year include the Developing Scholars Program, McNair Scholars Program, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Scholars, the Kansas Idea Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence, and the Cancer Research Awards Program. Developing Scholars and McNair Scholars are students from underrepresented groups and first generation college students. Summer programs at KSU are designed to offer prospective graduate students an opportunity to explore the exciting world of research and to learn about graduate education. The Graduate School sponsors the Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program for students from underrepresented groups. We have three NSF-supported Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs in the areas of Grassland Ecology, the Human-Environment Regional Observatory, and Mathematics. The NIH-funded Kansas Bridges to the Future is a partnership between KSU and five community colleges in Kansas; the goals are to develop students’ interest in careers in biomedical research and allied sciences and to help them transition to four-year institutions. Mentoring, tutoring, special multicultural classes, and financial support are some of the features of the Multicultural Engineering Program sponsored by the College of Engineering. The Women in Engineering and Science Program is a collaborative effort between the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Engineering that is designed to cultivate the STEM interests of women from middle school through post graduate levels. All programs provide rich learning experiences for participants in environments that help them succeed in their chosen disciplines.