Faculty must lead inclusion.

Later this year, I will step down as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), after 30 years. I know this to be true-faculty members have the power. Presidents, provosts, and senior leaders at an institution set a tone and create the setting for successful programs. But ultimately, it is the commitment of professors and teaching staff that determines whether students-all students-can pursue their interests and achieve their goals. It takes high expectations for both students and educators.

Outcomes and Processes in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program: STEM PhD Completion, Sense of Community, Perceived Program Benefit, Science Identity, and Research Self-Efficacy.

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepresented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs than comparison students. The first of two studies in this report extends the prior research by examining levels of PhD completion for Meyerhoff (N = 479) versus comparison sample (N = 249) students among the first 16 cohorts. Entering African-American Meyerhoff students were 4.8 times more likely to complete STEM PhDs than comparison sample students. To enhance understanding of potential mechanisms of influence, the second study used data from the 22nd (Fall 2010) to 25th (Fall 2013) cohorts (N = 109) to test the hypothesis that perceived program benefit at the end of freshman year would mediate the relationship between sense of community at the end of Summer Bridge and science identity and research self-efficacy at the end of sophomore year. Study 2 results indicated that perceived program benefit fully mediated the relationship between sense of community and both criterion measures. The findings underscore the potential of comprehensive STEM intervention programs to enhance PhD completion, and suggest mechanisms of influence.

Meyerhoff Scholars Program: a strengths-based, institution-wide approach to increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is widely viewed as a national model of a program that enhances the number of underrepresented minority students who pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics PhDs. The current article provides an overview of the program and the institution-wide change process that led to its development, as well as a summary of key outcome and process evaluation research findings. African American Meyerhoff students are 5× more likely than comparison students to pursue a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics PhD. Program components viewed by the students as most beneficial include financial scholarship, being a part of the Meyerhoff Program community, the Summer Bridge program, study groups, and summer research. Qualitative findings from interviews and focus groups demonstrate the importance of the Meyerhoff Program in creating a sense of belonging and a shared identity, encouraging professional development, and emphasizing the importance of academic skills. Among Meyerhoff students, several precollege and college factors have emerged as predictors of successful entrance into a PhD program in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, including precollege research excitement, precollege intrinsic math/science motivation, number of summer research experiences during college, and college grade point average. Limitations of the research to date are noted, and directions for future research are proposed.

Enhancing the Number of African Americans Who Pursue STEM PhDs: Meyerhoff Scholarship Program Outcomes, Processes, and Individual Predictors.

The current study examines the outcomes, processes, and individual predictors of pursuit of a STEM PhD among African-American students in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. Meyerhoff students were nearly five times more likely than comparison students to pursue a STEM PhD. Program components consistently rated as important were financial scholarship, being part of the Meyerhoff Program community, the Summer Bridge program, study groups, staff academic advising, and summer research opportunities. Furthermore, focus group findings revealed student internalization of key Meyerhoff Program values, including a commitment to excellence, accountability, group success, and giving back. In terms of individual predictors, multinomial logit regression analyses revealed that Meyerhoff students with higher levels of research excitement at college entry were more likely to pursue a STEM PhD.

Increasing the number of African American PhDs in the sciences and engineering: a strengths-based approach.

Fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, the percentage of African American students who receive PhDs in natural science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields remains disappointingly low. A multifaceted, strengths-based approach to intervention and research that holds great promise for increasing the number of African American students who achieve at the highest levels academically is described. This work began in 1988 with the development of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program for undergraduate minority STEM majors at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). If current PhD receipt rates of program graduates continue, UMBC will in all likelihood become the leading predominantly White baccalaureate-origin university for Black STEM PhDs in the nation. The program is described and outcome and process findings from its ongoing evaluation are highlighted. The parenting practices that helped these youths to overcome the odds and achieve at the highest levels prior to coming to college are also examined.