August 2009 Communiqué

PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, & TRAINING OF PSYCHOLOGISTS OF COLOR Dull Knife Memorial College, now known as Chief Dull Knife College, supported the Student Tutoring and Mentoring Program through the William TallBulll Community Education Center that included tutoring Native American students interested in biomedical research and/or human services. Fort Belknap College (FBC) developed a program that facilitated the transfer of new students into the then newly adopted pre-psychology program, and developed a series of meetings focused on academic advisement, student orientation, financial assistance and career planning. The project also collaborated with FBC’s Student Services Office to sponsor various social and Native American culturally-centered retention activities for all students, including scholarship application assistance and, family-night activities. In collaboration with the Director of Mental Health Careers and Opportunities Program (MHCOP), the project also compiled cultural resource information on the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine people of Fort Belknap that was utilized and integrated into FBC’s Human Services and pre-psychology curriculum. It also developed outreach brochures that were disseminated to local high school students in encourage attendance to FBC. Miami Dade College (MDC), Kendall Campus, developed: (a) A project website to inform and recruit interested students, (b) a 3-credit course entitled “Psychology for Career Adjustment” that explored career opportunities in psychology and related biomedical fields; (c) a lecture series with presentations concerning psychology research that highlighted the work of the University of Miami (UM) and Florida International University (FIU) faculty who conducted symposia held at MDC. MDC also collaborated with Florida International University and the University of Miami’s Psychology Research Initiatives Mentorship Experience (PRIME), the project’s regional program that provided mentored summer research internships for selected UM and FIU students, and developed a student organization for psychology majors. Also, to prepare students for research mentorships, MDC offered a Social Science Seminar for one-credit for students selected to participate in PRIME that focused on reviewing research methodology in psychology and the social sciences. Students who completed the summer PRIME research activity and continued working in the laboratory for independent research and honors/senior research courses received stipends for textbooks, materials and student fees for two consecutive semesters.

Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) held the Science, Technology, and Research Training (START) Conference. The event, first held in 1999 was attended each year by approximately 150-200 students from local high schools and colleges. START focused on expanding students’ awareness of training and career opportunities in the areas of science, technology, and research and provided students a forum to present their research both 35