Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. program developing and mentoring next generation of STEM leaders

This article was originally posted on December 10th, 2018.

A lively group of students, faculty, staff and postdocs participating in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program recently gathered in the lobby of the Vanderbilt Engineering and Science Building…

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Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's-to-Ph.D. program developing and mentoring next generation of STEM leaders

A lively group of students, faculty, staff and postdocs participating in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master's-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program recently gathered in the lobby of the Vanderbilt Engineering and Science Building for the program's annual mentor mixer. The mixer connects students in the program to potential mentors and creates networking opportunities for all in attendance.

Congratulations to Vanderbilt Bridge Program Director- Kelly Holley-Bockelmann

This article was originally posted on November 28th, 2017.

Our Vanderbilt University Bridge Program Director, Dr. Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, has been named the chair of the U.S. Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) Study Team. Not only will she lead a team of scientists here, she will also represent the US as part of the LISA International consortium.
Please see the article here.

Vanderbilt Making Strides in Student Diversity

This article was originally posted on September 7th, 2017.

Through the efforts of many dedicated individuals and groups on campus, we are seeing significant changes in the diversity of Vanderbilt students including the recognition that Vanderbilt University was No. 1 in the United States for the number of doctoral degrees awarded to African Americans in the biological and biomedical sciences for 2014-15.

Click the link below for more info about the impact of the IMSD and the Bridge!

Vanderbilt Student Diversity

Bridge Alumna Jedidah Isler and Current Student Natasha Berryman to Speak at the UNESCO Symposium.

This article was originally posted on August 18th, 2017.

Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Program Alumna, Dr. Jedidah Isler, created the #VanguardSTEM web series and website to support and celebrate Women of Color in STEM. It has seen tremendous success in the past few years and has recently been honored as Dr. Isler and current Bridge student and #Vanguard STEM editor in chief Natasha Berryman have been invited to speak about #Vanguard STEM and its parent not-for-profit The SeRCH Foundation at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Symposium and Policy Forum “Cracking the Code: Girls’ Education in STEM” in Bangkok, Thailand, August 28-30. This is exciting and a well-deserved honor for their outstanding work and commitment!

You can catch up on the #VanguardSTEM series and read all the great content at http://vanguardstem.com/. You can also follow #VanguardSTEM on Twitter @VanguardSTEM.

Bridge Research Celebration Day!

This article was originally posted on August 8th, 2017.

This Friday, August 11th marks our 5th Annual Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s to PhD Bridge Research Day. This year will feature many more alumni, including an alumni career panel before the event begins. Our keynote speaker is alumna Melissa Harrison Fortuna, PhD who will be telling us about her academic path and her current work at Intel as a Managing Engineer.

Note that it is a research celebration- because the focus is on student research and accomplishments. This is a time to reflect on how far we have come as scientists and note our contributions to our field. Even more so, it is a chance to celebrate our community and come together to get to know our new students and rekindle the ties that help drive our success. Together, We are the Bridge.

The Bridge Program’s Growing Influence in Tennessee

This article was first posted on August 13th, 2015.

The 2015-2016 start of the Bridge Program ushers in a new era of Bridge Program! Through a successful collaborative program between Tennessee State University (TSU) and Vanderbilt this year marks the expansion of the Tennessee-wide Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) to include students of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD Bridge Program.

To read more about these excifing changes and the role the Bridge Program played, head over to the Article at Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

TSU, Vanderbilt win nearly $1 million to increase minority STEM Ph.D.s

This article was originally posted on April 27, 2015.

Bridge_GraduatesPS-e1430162419330.jpg

Increasing the number of minority students who earn a Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering and math is the aim of a new “bridge to doctorate” program being launched by a coalition of Tennessee universities and led by Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University.

“We are thrilled to be working with TSU and our other Tennessee partners on this project. We all benefit by increasing the number of underrepresented minority students earning their Ph.D.s in these fields,”Art Overholser, senior associate dean of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering and co-director of the new program, said. “The perspectives and talents of the students we hope to attract will not only enrich our research and teaching of STEM disciplines, but will serve as an example and inspiration for students to come.”

The National Science Foundation recently awarded $987,000 to TSU to launch the new program as an expansion of the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, or TLSAMP. TLSAMP is a NSF-funded collaborative effort by 10 Tennessee colleges and universities to significantly increase and improve the retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM fields statewide. TLSAMP is led by TSU and includes Fisk University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Middle Tennessee State University, Nashville State Community College, Southwest Tennessee Community College, Tennessee Technological University, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee – Knoxville and Vanderbilt.

“We are delighted that Vanderbilt University is the inaugural host for the Tennessee Bridge-to-the–Doctorate program. One of our goals is to increase the number of students attending graduate school. This award allows more of our students to transition into such programs,” Lonnie Sharpe, Massie Chair of Excellence at Tennessee State University and TLSAMP executive director, said. “I am excited about this great opportunity for our students to continue their quest for doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

The new program, tagged TLSAMP BD @ VU, will fund 12 students and will recruit students both nationally and within TLSAMP institutions. Students must complete undergraduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields to qualify for the program.

TLSAMP BD @ VU will build upon the success and lessons learned from the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-Ph.D. Program. Launched in 2004, the two-year program has built a detailed, research-based toolkit to support underrepresented minority students’ on their path to earning a Ph.D.

Rather than selecting students based on the usual metrics of test scores or grade point averages alone, the bridge program looks at how the students display “grit” and how they tackle academic challenges. Students are given a clear road map of what they will need to do to apply to and be admitted to a Ph.D. program, and work closely every step of the way with a mentor on their studies and collaborative research projects. Mentors are trained to identify possible trouble points and to step in quickly to help students stay on track, and also connect the students to the broader scientific community.

As a result of that program, Vanderbilt has become the leading producer of underrepresented minority Ph.D.s in astronomy, materials science and physics. Since its launch in 2004, the program has graduated 16 Ph.D.’s, all of whom have gone on to careers in academia, industry and national laboratories. The new funding will allow this model to be expanded across all STEM disciplines and will involve every STEM Ph.D. program at Vanderbilt.

“We have built a robust and nationally visible platform through the Fisk-Vanderbilt Bridge Program for underrepresented minority Ph.D.s in the sciences. Now with this NSF Bridge to the Doctorate grant, we have the opportunity to scale up and make an impact in engineering also,” Keivan Stassun, professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt and co-director of TLSAMP BD @ VU, said. “Importantly, this also represents an experiment to reform STEM graduate education that will further position TLSAMP partner institutions as leaders in at last solving the so-called ‘diversity pipeline problem’ in STEM.”

Mark Hardy, vice president for academic affairs at TSU, is the principal investigator on the TLSAMP BD @ VU grant and will be assisted on the project by Sharpe. Dina Stroud, research assistant professor in clinical pharmacology, is the executive director of TLSAMP BD @ Vanderbilt.

This news release was written by Melanie Moran and originally published in Vanderbilt Research News. Link to original article.

Bridge Program in the News

This article was originally posted on July 28th, 2017.

In the last few months we have seen a number of articles mentioning the Bridge. Here is a links roundup of recent ones!

Here is an unexpected shout out from the Scholarly Hires website.
http://scholarlyhires.com/Employer/Articles/Diversity-or-Inclusion-If-you-build-it-will-t

This is part of an incredible series in Vanity Fair.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/saluting-a-new-guard-of-stem-stars-part-4

This article includes a couple of our students talking about choosing a grad school.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v539/n7627/full/nj7627-127a.html

Check out this excerpt of an Article in The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education: Building a Better 'Bridge' to the Ph.D.

Below is an excerpt of a feature story by Vimal Patel that appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education May 19, 2016: Feelings of academic inadequacy are common in graduate school, but diversity advocates say they hit black, Hispanic, and American Indian students harder because those groups are sharply underrepresented in academe, especially in science and engineering.

Vanderbilt Chancellor Discusses Important Fisk-Vanderbilt Partnership

This article was originally posted on September 25, 2017.

From the Tennessee Tribune, Dr. Zeppos talks about the partnership between Fisk and Vanderbilt and his desire to see it developed further.

Vanderbilt's Chancellor Zeppos Welcomes New Fisk "Partner" - The Tennessee Tribune

By Reginald Stuart In Nashville's higher education community of more than a dozen colleges and universities, Vanderbilt University is considered the 800-pound gorilla in the room. It walks with a certain degree of humility, despite its standing, says Nicholas S. Zeppos, Vanderbilt Chancellor and chief executive for the past 11 years.