2013 Member-Universities Professional Institute

GENERAL INFORMATION

Date and Location
March 24-27, 2013
Hyatt Regency New Orleans
601 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70113
http://neworleans.hyatt.com/


ABOUT MUPI

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member-schools that include public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), medical schools and law schools. TMCF helps students with a clear intention and the motivation to succeed and acquire a high-quality college education at an affordable cost.

TMCF’s 2013 Member-Universities Professional Institute (MUPI) will be held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. This three- day event will focus on improving preparation, broadening pathways, and expanding professional opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAM). For over a decade, TMCF has hosted this capacity- building conference to engage its member-schools in research-driven conversations that lead to enhanced institutional practices and positive outcomes for public HBCU students. This year, we will convene TMCF member-school presidents, provosts, deans, STEAM faculty and institutional researchers who are able to effect real change within their schools.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Improving Retention, Increasing Graduation and Advancing Careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Math).” Through workshops, plenary sessions, and affiliation forums, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate with industry professionals in order to create action plans that will promote opportunities for students interested in STEAM fields. One of the goals of the conference is for participants to take back to their schools the latest ideas and strategies for strengthening the pipeline of STEAM graduates.

The demand for well-prepared STEAM graduates has increased to such an extent that the U.S. Commission on National Security 21st Century concluded that the lack of prepared graduates “pose[s] critical national security challenges for the United States.” And while underrepresented students earn STEAM degrees at much lower rates than their white counterparts, HBCUs continue to play a significant role in educating minority students. In fact, a 2010 report by the Urban Institute notes that HBCU enrollment in science and technology fields increased 15% between 1990 and 2007. Our goal is to build and improve upon this trend in ways that inform the national conversation.

CONFERENCE GOALS

1. PREPARATION - Evaluate data related to the retention and migration of STEAM majors
2. PATHWAYS - Create action plans for increasing graduation from STEAM programs
3. PROFESSIONS - Discover student career (internship/full-time) opportunities in STEAM fields