The national decline in the study of foreign languages is a cause for concern with implications for US National Security that depends on the preparation and training of the next generation of regional studies experts with proficiency in foreign languages. There are a growing number of universities across the country that are responding to this trend through the offering of Global Semesters to their first-year students. The U.S. Department of Education's Title VI Undergraduate International …
Welcoming Megan Hill Sundy As Our Winter Intern!
We are very pleased to welcome Megan J. Hill Sundy as our winter intern! Megan is a recent graduate with a Master's Degree in Measurement & Evaluation from American University, DC. She is dedicated to obtaining M&E skills and practical knowledge to better support the development and implementation of social and STEM education programs. Megan has over a decade of experience working with a diverse group of stakeholders to advance social justice and education training programs in Montana …
A White Paper on Strategies to Train and Engage Students in Artificial Intelligence
We are very excited to share a white paper on Strategies to Train and Engage Students in Artificial Intelligence completed in collaboration with Sambit Bhattacharya and his team members in the Computer Science department at the Fayetteville State University (NC). The white paper was completed as part of an NSF-funded HBCU-TIP grant that led to a week-long hands-on intensive workshop in July on the same topic provided to over 40 faculty members from various NC-based community colleges and …
Giving Thanks
This Thanksgiving and all year round, I am grateful for having work, being safe, healthy, and being alive. Made over 30 "gratitude" shawls in the past 9 months to give thanks to friends, colleagues, and clients. Some of you may know that I self taught crochet in March when the pandemic struck and this is the progress I have made. More to come. …
Come To Check Out Our Covid Hair! Stay for the Evaluation Tips!
What: Webinar Organized By the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Title: Reimagining S-STEM Project Assessment & Knowledge Generation: 2020 Lessons Learned & Future Implications When: November 17, 3.30-5PM EST How: Register here- https://tinyurl.com/y3wgbqxx …
A Little Press is Totally OK. Right?
In case anyone needs a bit of a distraction from the elections, here's a little something: Rec Centers in the cities of Baltimore and Pittsburgh have joined forces to address digital divide through an innovative program funded by the National Science Foundation through the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program. This investment from the NSF will further the understanding of how to bridge the digital divide by researching the processes and challenges involved in establishing four …
It’s Cool To Collaborate With A Molecular Geneticist!
It's cool when you get to work on a grant proposal with a molecular geneticist with an expertise in genome engineering and editing (e.g., TALEN and CRISPR-Cas9 systems). What's even cooler is when he also happens to be your college classmate! I am honored to have the opportunity to collaborate (as an evaluator) with Anil Kumar Challa, Ph.D., my classmate from Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi, India) where we completed our Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Sciences in the late 90s. The …
Coppin State University Wins an NSF CREST Planning Grant! And We are Evaluating It!
Proud to continue our work with Coppin State University (MD). This time on a newly funded NSF HBCU-UP CREST planning grant that seeks to establish an Integrative Center for Emerging Contaminants. The goal of the grant is to build the foundation for a center, envisioned to be funded by the Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program, to perform research in emerging contaminants (EC), which are derived from industry, agriculture, and biotechnological and …
AEA365 Tip-A-Day For and By Evaluators Picks Up Our Blog Posts!
(Happy) Tuesday. Some of you may have read my blogs on evaluation job market that I posted on LinkedIn and our website in July. When I first started talking to Sheila B. Robinson, the curator of AEA365 Tip-a-day By and For Evaluators blog in early August, she encouraged me to publish them again on the AEA365 website for a much broader reach. So here it is! I hope these tips (in 3 parts) are somewhat beneficial to the new/emerging as well as more experienced evaluators looking for a job. …
MNA Goes to New Jersey! Well, Not Really (Yet).
We are very excited to start new evaluation work with Rowan University, NJ for their recently NSF-awarded Broadening Participation in STEM project titled, Virtual Reality Career Exploration: Introducing Underrepresented Students to High Need STEM Careers. The 3-year project seeks to improve the process by which high school students, specifically those in minority and rural populations, are exposed to STEM-related careers through virtual reality presentation(s). Through the use of immersive …