The 2016 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016, with a Dissertation House component on Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19. The event will be held at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover, Maryland. Please save the date. This page will be updated with details for the 2016 conference.

History of the PROMISE SSI (with conference links from 2003 – 2015)    |    PROMISE SSI: #ThinkBigDiversity 2015     |    2014 SSI Social Media Accolades   |    SSI 10th Anniversary 2013  |   PROMISE SSI Book on Amazon

REGISTER:

This event is free, as it is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Please register by clicking below. Registrations are handled by Eventbrite. If your plans change, please release your ticket so that someone else can have a space at the event. This event is open to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, staff, and career professionals.

PROMISE SSI 2016

#ThinkBigDiversity Part II: Pathways to the Prize

The prize. What does it mean for you? Becoming a Nobel Laureate? A member of the National Academy of Sciences? A College President? What are the prizes along the way? Completion of courses, qualification exams, or a dissertation? Is it a fellowship? An opportunity to conduct international research? Your dream job? Think about this. Contemplate. Plan. Train. Keep your eyes on your prize. 

All events will be held at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. 7795 Arundel Mills Boulevard · Hanover, MD 21076 · 410-796-9830. More about the past SSI program can be found here.

Attire: Business and business casual. We are asking that all guest plan to wear colors that represent our cohesion as an alliance. Red, white, black, yellow, and blue. Red, white, yellow, and black are the colors of our Maryland flag, and there is blue in the NSF logo. All of the logos for the University System of Maryland’s institutions have combinations  and variations of these colors. Whether your palette includes yellow or gold, powder blue or sapphire, please join us and wear clothing that is within the general range of our Maryland color scheme.

Pre-conference: Thursday, August 18, 2016 

The Dissertation House at the SSI (Day 1)

Photo by Cheriss May, http://www.cherissmay.com

The USM Dissertation House at the PROMISE SSI 2016. The Dissertation House pre-conference has a separate registration process. Visit the page for the USM Dissertation House at the SSI 2016 . (Registration for the PROMISE SSI does not provide entry to the Dissertation House nor its activities.)

7:00 AM – 11:00 PM: The Dissertation House – The Baltimore Room

Full schedule: USM Dissertation House at the SSI 2016 .

Pre-Conference: Friday, August 19, 2016

The Dissertation House (Day 2), Advisory Board Meeting, Speakers’ & Guest Mentors’ Orientation/Welcome Dinner, Sisters in the Dissertation House Dessert & Discussion Reception

The Dissertation House pre-conference has a separate registration process. Visit the page for the USM Dissertation House at the 2016 SSI. (Registration for the PROMISE SSI does not provide entry to the Dissertation House nor its activities.)

7:00 AM – 11:00 PM: The Dissertation House at the SSI –  The Baltimore Room.  Full schedule: USM Dissertation House at the 2016 SSI 

2:00 PM – 5:30 PM: PROMISE AGEP External Advisory Board Meeting – Annapolis Board Room

6:00 PM: Speakers’ & Advisors SSI Orientation and Dinner – The Washington Room, 2nd Floor

All invited speakers and mentors are asked to attend the annual PROMISE SSI Speakers’ orientation session, even if you have participated in the PROMISE SSI in the past. This working dinner will serve as the speakers’ check-in station, and will provide all of the necessary information that will be needed for the Saturday conference.

8: 30 PM – 10: 00 PM. Sisters in the Dissertation House. Dessert &Discussion – Part II

The Sisters in the Dissertation House Dessert & Discussion session was founded in 2015. This first session with inaugural moderator Dr. Shanna Smith, featured alumni Dr. Sephoria Westmoreland and Dr. Alexis Williams,  and “Sisters in the Dissertation House” book author, Dr. Jennifer Bacon.  The discussion will continue in 2016 with a different panel, to continue the sharing of strategies for finishing the dissertation.

Main Conference – Saturday, August 20, 2016

• 7:30 – 8:30: Registration – 2nd Floor Foyer

• 7:45 AM: “Working Toward Your Prize” – Scholars’ Choice – Breakfast Round tables – Ballroom

  1. Dr. Yaihara Fortis- Santiago, Science Alliance Director at The New York Academy of Sciences.Topics: How to apply for AAAS Fellowship after you finish your PhD, Awards for graduate students and scholars, Scientific meetings and resources. Awards: Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, Blavatnik Awards faculty competition, Blavatnik Awards regional postdoctoral competition, James McKeen Cattell Award (Psychology Doctoral Dissertation Award), The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science Research Award
  2. Dr. Mark Lewis, Associate Dean and Professor,  School of Operations Research and Information Engineering,Cornell University. Topic: The road to full professor. Read more about Dr. Lewis: https://people.orie.cornell.edu/melewis
  3. Dr. Joseph Frascella, Senior Science Advisor to the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the NIH, where he was formerly the Director of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research at NIDA. As Director, he led broad clinical research and research training programs in neuroscience, human development, and behavioral treatment. Prior to this position, he served as Branch Chief of the Clinical Neuroscience Branch at NIDA. See BRAINWORLD’s profile on Dr. Frascella.
  4. PROMISE External Advisory Board Members – How to prepare for a faculty position.

This session is presented in partnership with: 

• 8:30 AM: PROMISE and the World View: Harnessing Talent for Global Action

Speaker: Dr. Renetta Tull, Founding Director of the PROMISE AGEP and 2015 Global Engineering Deans Council/Airbus Diversity Award Finalist, will discuss ways that initiatives of PROMISE have been shared in Latin America, Italy, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Taiwan. Dr. Tull has spoken around the word on issues of diversity and inclusion in STEM, and is regularly invited to share “The Jessica Effect” in efforts to prevent abuses against women. This talk for the 2016 PROMISE SSI  will also share research areas that are being discussed around the world by UNESCO in line with humanitarian science and engineering initiatives and global grand challenges. In 2016, Dr. Tull was named as one of the 35 Women in STEM Social Media Stars. Follow Dr. Tull on Twitter @Renetta_Tull

Session Inspiration: The Global Engineering Deans Council & Airbus

• 9:00 AM: Plenary 1 – Eyes on the Prize – “The Pact”

Speaker: Dr. Daniel Jean, Executive Director of EOF and the Center for Academic Development and Assessment, Montclair State University, @WordsTravel, #WordsTravel

• 9:45 AM: Plenary 2 – Learning from the Prize Winners – “Mentors and Leaders Who Are Paving Your Way.” Panel of National Award Winners and Presidents

• Panelist: Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Past President of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Endowed Professor –  Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education, Curriculum and Instruction (CI), Educational Policy Studies (EPS), Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis (ELPA) – University of Wisconsin-Madison; Brock International Prize In Education. Paper: Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (cited 3100+ times),   author of the critically acclaimed books, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, Crossing over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms, and Beyond the Big House: African American Educators on Teacher Education.  Honorary Degrees: Umeå University, Umeå Sweden, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Dr. Ladson-Billings is a Senior Fellow of the NEA Foundation.

• Panelist: Dr. Louis Martin-Vega, President, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), Dean of Engineering, North Carolina State University,  Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), 1999 IIE Albert Holzman Distinguished Educator Award, 2000 HENACC-Hispanic Engineering National Education Achievement Award, 2007 National Hispanic Scientist of the Year Award from the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry, 2008 Outstanding Engineer in North Carolina Award from the NC Society of Engineers, Industrial and Systems Engineering Alumni Leadership Award from the University of Florida in 2009, and the 2012 Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, IIE’s highest honor. He is a past president of IIE, a member of the Pan American Academy of Engineering and the HENACC Hall of Fame, and was named as one of the 50 Most Influential Hispanics in the US by Hispanic Business magazine in 2014.

Session Leader: Dr. Christine Grant, Professor, Chemical Engineering, and Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement, North Carolina State University. 2003 Winner – White House Presidential  Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) Mentor Award. Article: Dr. Christine Grant leads restructuring of College of Engineering Faculty Development Office. Follow on Twitter: @DrGrantEmpowers

Session Sponsor:

• 10:30 AM: Circle of PhDs

• 11:15 AM: Networking Break – 2nd floor foyer

• 11:30 AM: Breakout Sessions – In Pursuit of the Prize  -“Activate Your Plans” 

• Session 1: New/Incoming Students – “Expert Advice for Getting Started:  Time Management, Understanding Professors’ Expectations, and Preparing to Ace Classes”

 Speakers: 2016 PROMISE “New Student Mentor-in Residence Dream Team”

• Miryam C. Gerdine, MPH, Associate, Johns Hopkins University; Acting Branch Chief at U.S. Government, Department of Health & Human Services, HRSA; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI)
• Levon Esters, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Youth Development and Agricultural Education Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Purdue University; Co-PI of M@P (Mentoring at Purdue)
• Marquita Qualls, Ph.D., Entropia, Inc., Former President of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), Interact on Twitter: @DrQualls
• Sweeney Windchief, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Adult & Higher Education, Montana State University; Specialties: Critical Race Theory (CRT), Indigenous Epistemologies, Student Success, American Indian Education Policy

Session Sponsors

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• Continuing Graduate Students (All master’s and doctoral students who have completed at least one year of graduate school)  – “Being a Professional in the Digital Age” 
  • Speaker: Clifton Griffin, Ph.D., Dean of the Graduate School, Salisbury University, former Director for Research & Graduate Studies at Texas A& M – Qatar.

Session Sponsor:

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• Session 3: PP&P: Postdocs, Professors, & Professionals  – “Preparing for the Prize – Media Preparation: Tips for Engaging with the Public.”

You have your PhD, and you’re engaged in your work. What do you do when you get a call from your university’s communications office to tell you that you are being asked to discuss your work on the radio, or that your last grant caught the attention of NPR and you need to prepare for the reporter’s interview? This session, administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences’ (AAAS)  Center for Public Engagement with Science & Technology, is a short version of their broader “Communicating Science” workshop.

Session Partner:

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1:00 Lunch and Program

• Lunch and Networking with PROMISE Alumni and Faculty
• Celebration of Doctoral Candidates
• Keynote Speaker: Dr. Makola M. Abdullah, President, Virginia State University

2:30 Networking, Tweet-up, and Dessert Reception #ThinkBigDiversity

Media

Special In-Person, Live Social Media Coverage by “STEM Celebrity Social Media Personalities” (Our guests have more than 10K Twitter followers, combined):

Dr. Stephani Page, Initiator: #BlackAndSTEM

Dr. Stephani Page (Microbiologist), Initiator of #BlackAndSTEM, Follow: @ThePurplePage. Dr. Page studies protein components of microbial signal transduction pathways. Her work has been covered by Fast Company, Scientific American, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She is a “STEM social media celebrity,” known for mobilizing and engaging an online community of underrepresented scholars.

Dr. Jedidah Isler, TED Fellow

Dr. Jedidah Isler (Astrophysicist) & Team, Founder, Executive Producer, Host of Vanguard STEM, Follow: @VanguardSTEM, @JedidahIslerPhD. Dr. Isler is a TED Fellow and National Geographic Explorer. National Geographic notes that Dr. Isler “is the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Yale. She’s a champion of inclusion in the sciences, aiming to create a world where anyone, regardless of race, gender, or background, can pursue their interests.”

See one of Dr. Isler’s TED Talks:

Dr. Patty Lopez, 2016 Winner: Advocating Women in Engineering Award, by the Society of Women Engineers

Dr. Patty Lopez [Patricia D. Lopez, Intel Corporation, Mission Critical Data Center] (Computer Scientist), Founding Director of Latinas in Computing, she serves on boards for the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI), the Anita Borg Institute, and  the Computing Research Association-Women (CRA-W). She also served as the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2013 General Co-Chair. Awards: Great Minds in STEM/HENAAC, Community Service Award, 2010; Hewlett Packard Diversity and Inclusion Award, 2004. Follow: @LatinasInC , @pittrpatt

Additional coverage provided by Dr. Yaihara Fortis-Santiago, New York Academy of Sciences. The Science Alliance: http://www.nyas.org/WhatWeDo/ScienceAlliance.aspx

Photography 

PROMISE utilizes the services of Cheriss May, Ndemay Media Group, who serves as a photographer for events at the White House. She is a member of: American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Canon Professional Services (CPS), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

General Conference Coverage for PROMISE: Shawnisha Hester Photography

REGISTER:

This event is free, as it is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Please register by clicking below. Registrations are handled by Eventbrite. If your plans change, please release your ticket so that someone else can have a space at the event. This event is open to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, staff, and career professionals.

VENUE: The HOTEL at Arundel Preserve

The Hotel at Arundel Preserve

7795 Arundel Mills Boulevard

Hanover, MD 21076 · 410-796-9830

Landmarks: This hotel is near BWI Airport, and has a free shuttle to the hotel, upon request (the MARC regional train, and the Amtrak “BWI Station” are also on-site at BWI airport). This hotel is approximately five miles from the Arundel Mills Mall.    |   Map and Directions

Call in or go online to make reservations under the PROMISE room block for the August PROMISE event at the discounted group rate of $149. Call the hotel’s reservations line at 888-624-4011 and either ask to book under the “PROMISE SSI 2016” room block or use the group code: 160819PROM. There is also an option to book online using the hotel’s website: www.hotelarundel.com by clicking the “Make Reservations” tab and entering the group code listed above.DEADLINE for the PROMISE rate: July 29, 2016.

PROMISE AGEP Night: Orioles Game vs. Houston Astros

We will be having a PROMISE AGEP night to watch the Orioles game vs. Houston Astros on Saturday, August 20, 2016 after the Summer Success Institute! Everyone is invited to come, watch the game, relax, and have time to socialize with other SSI attendees. Attendees will need to pay for their own Orioles ticket(s) and provide their own transportation. If you do not have a car, we encourage attendees to carpool with friends to the event. Please click on the following website http://www.orioles.com/tix/promiseagep to purchase tickets. We look forward to seeing you there!