A Mixed-Method Study of Exemplary Research Opportunity Interventions in Support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences

The Study of Exemplary Research Opportunities Programs

With a four year grant from the National Institutes of Health, this multi-method project examines factors that promote the entry of underrepresented undergraduate students into graduate school and research careers in the biomedical/behavioral sciences. The project focuses on social psychological factors that impede and support the efficacy of two exemplary research opportunity interventions: the Summer Research Opportunities Program conducted by Big 10 universities that are members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and the University of Michigan’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (an academic year program).

Principal Investigator:
Philip J. Bowman, Ph.D., Director, National Center for Institutional Diversity and Professor, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, University of Michigan

Co-Principal Investigators:
Deborah F. Carter, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, University of Michigan
Angela Ebreo, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist and Assistant Director, National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan (also Project Director)

About Project

Committee on Institutional Cooperation
Established in 1958, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) is the academic consortium of twelve major research institutions. It is the athletic counterpart to the Big Ten Conference plus the University of Chicago. Overall, the CIC institutions annually engage in more than $6 billion of funded research, employ over 33,000 faculty members, and enroll over 400,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on their campuses. CIC universities confer more than 15 percent of all Ph.D. degrees awarded nationally, nearly 20 percent in engineering, chemistry and computer science, and nearly 25 percent in agriculture. It also sponsors SROP, which introduces underrepresented undergraduate students to graduate education and research at top-ranked institutions.

CIC Member Institutions:

• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois
• Indiana University
• University of Iowa
• University of Michigan
• Michigan State University
• University of Minnesota
• Northwestern University
• Ohio State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Purdue University
• University of Wisconsin-Madison

Press Release

Project-related Presentations, Posters, and Publications

Annual Conference on Understanding Interventions to Broaden Participation Presentations

• • Bailey, TaShara (2011, May). Formal program support and STEM outcomes in a research opportunity intervention: A theory-driven study of differential benefits from exemplary pipeline intervention. Poster session presented at the 4th Annual Conference on Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Research Careers, Nashville, TN

• • Bowman, Phillip, and Ebreo, Angela (2009, May). Explaining success in mentored research interventions: A strength-based social psychological approach. Poster presentation presented at the 2nd Annual Conference on Understanding Interventions that Broaden Participation in Research Careers, Bethesda, MD.

Other National Presentations

• • Williams, Krystal (2011, April). Research opportunity interventions and college/career success in STEM fields: The role of multilevel strengths and student role strain. Poster presentation presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

Related Publications

• • Bowman, Phillip J. (2012). A strengths-based social psychological approach to resiliency: Cultural diversity, ecological and life span issues. In S. Prince-Embury (Ed.), Translating resiliency theory for application with children, youth and adults (Chapter 14). New York: Springer.
  • Bowman, P.J. (2011). Need for a 21st century merit agenda in higher education. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 1). New York: AMS Press.
  • Bowman, P.J. (2011). Diversity and merit in higher education: Challenges and opportunities for the 21st century. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 2). New York: AMS Press.
  • Bowman, P.J. (2011). Toward a comprehensive strength-based assessment system: A social psychological approach. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 8). New York: AMS Press.
  • Bowman, P.J. & St. John, E. (2011). Toward a 21st century meritocracy: Bridging scholarship, intervention research, and social change. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds.), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 14). New York: AMS Press.
  • Ebreo, A., Fonseca-Bolorin, G., & Bowman, P.J. (2011). Diversity and comprehensive strategies in higher education. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 13). New York: AMS Press.
  • Natour, R., Locks, A., & Bowman, P.J. (2011). Diversity, merit and college choice: Role of a dynamic sociopolitical environment. In P.J. Bowman & E. St John (Eds), Diversity, merit, and higher education (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25, Chapter 6). New York: AMS Press.Bowman, P.J. & St. John, E. (2012). Diversity, Merit, and Higher Education: A Comprehensive Agenda for the 21st Century (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 25). New York: AMS Press.
  • Rowley, L. & Bowman, P .J. (2009). Risk, protection, and achievement disparities among African American males: Cross-generation theory, research and comprehensive intervention. Journal of Negro Education, 78 (3), 305–320.