Research experiences in the chemistry and biochemistry curriculum at Barnard College: A structure that supports student learning, faculty development, and safety for diverse populations Andrew Crowther and Rachel Narehood Austin Department of Chemistry Barnard College Columbia University
Overview •
The Barnard context - trying to find features that generalize
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The Summer Research Institute •
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safety and diversity
The Science Pathways Scholars Program (SP)2
Barnard College •
All women’s liberal arts college in NYC
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Affiliated with Columbia University
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founded in 1889
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2500 students
Summer Research Institute (SRI) •
began in 2014, science-wide institutional program
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single set of standards, dates, unified program
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students apply via specific departments or programs
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116, 122, 148 students (~50% from internal grants, ~30% provost, ~20% external grants)
Laboratory safety in Chemistry at Barnard •
culture of safety
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lab coats and safety googles are ALWAYS worn in all laboratories - everyone models this
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no lab coats or gloves in computer room
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no gloves in hallways, etc.
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safety specialist in chemistry + Columbia EHS as partner
Typical SRI schedule •
week 1: welcome luncheon (day 1), mandatory safety seminar (2.5 hours) day 2
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week 2: workshops = excel, ArcGIS, python, Indesign and Illustrator, C-14 training, also faculty breakfast lecture
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week 3: workshops = Latex, R, MATLAB, SPSS
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week 4: poster making workshops + faculty breakfast lecture
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week 5: alumnae panel
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week 6: faculty breakfast lecture
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week 7: poster abstracts due
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week 8: deadline for poster submission, faculty breakfast lecture
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week 9: poster session final friday
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(one week of flexibility)
Science Pathway Scholars 2 Program (SP) •
program started in 2015 with pilot grant from Sherman Fairchild Foundation
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cohort of 6-10 high achieving students from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences
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heavy faculty involvement in all phases of program - recruiting, retention, mentoring
https://barnard.edu/science-pathways-scholars-program
Program Overview •
1 week introduction summer before matriculation, culminating in SRI poster session
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close mentoring during the academic year
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cohort
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journal club, free membership in NY Academy of Sciences, events with faculty
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3 fully funded summers of research in NY
contact
[email protected] for more information
Summary of things that work well •
Overarching structure to SRI with targeted classes, especially in computing
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Uniform structure enables students to have clear expectations
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Culture of laboratory safety modeled by everyone
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Critical mass of talented students from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences — strength in numbers!
Questions, Comments?
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thanks to Sherman Fairchild Foundation, private donors, NSF, NIH, HHMI, grants administration staff and development office staff
