Evaluation of NSF's Program of Grants for Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) (2009) / Chapter Skim
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3 The VIGRE Program
3 The VIGRE Program
Pages 35-46
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From page 35... ...
at NSF, wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter to the mathematical sciences community introducing and justifying the VIGRE program. The letter presented the background that follows.1 Both the David Report (NRC, 1984)
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From page 36... ...
. The SEP report recommended that the VIGRE program have undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and optional curriculum development and outreach components tied together by vertical integration and supported by active recruitment of women and underrepresented minorities.
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From page 37... ...
to prepare undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows for the broad range of opportunities available to individuals with training in the mathematical sciences; and (2) to encourage departments in the mathematical sciences to initiate or improve education activities that lend themselves to integration with research, especially activities that promote the interac tion of scholars across boundaries of academic age and departmental standing.
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From page 38... ...
motivate more students to pursue an education in the mathematical sciences. With these goals in mind, each VIGRE proposal must present a coherent plan for the integration of: • a graduate traineeship program, • an undergraduate research experience program, and • a postdoctoral program.9 In 2003, the VIGRE program was subsumed within the larger grant competition, Enhancing the Mathematical Sciences Workforce in the 21st Century (EMSW21)
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From page 39... ...
The 1998 RFP clearly sets out the notion at the heart of the program: vertical integration, which "refers to programs in which research and education are coupled and in which undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty are mutually supportive." According to that RFP: Every VIGRE proposal should have as its core a coherent plan for the vertical integration of: • a graduate traineeship program • a postdoctoral fellowship program • undergraduate and graduate curriculum review.13 Undergraduates were expected to have research experiences, which the RFP noted could take many forms, and which also "should include exposure to the many opportunities for careers in the mathematical sciences and the development of communication skills."14 The graduate traineeships, according to the 1998 RFP, "are intended as a mechanism for: broadening graduate education; shortening the average time-to-degree for the doctorate; improving communication skills; and expanding career opportunities."15 This is a very useful statement because it establishes four 12 From the program solicitation: "Enhancing the Mathematical Sciences Workforce in the 21st Century (EMSW21) ," NSF 05-595, available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05595/nsf05595.pdf.
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From page 40... ...
The 1999 RFP is important for laying out the justification behind vertical integration: The intent of the VIGRE program is to promote the development of a diverse community of researchers and scholars whose members interact on an appreciably wider scale than is now commonly observed, breaking through long-standing barriers that have served to compartmentalize the scholarly activities of undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and senior faculty. A community characterized by the kind of vertical integration just indicated would not only provide a setting conducive to more meaningful educational experiences for undergraduate and graduate students alike, but also be a stimulus to continuing professional development at the postdoctoral level and beyond.
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From page 41... ...
The preparation of future K-12 mathematics teachers has become another important responsibility of many mathematical sciences departments, yet the curriculum appropriate to this mission is often not in place. 20 As in the 1998 RFP, the main program components in 1999 were graduate traineeships, undergraduate research experience, and postdoctoral fellowships.
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From page 42... ...
Departments were to conduct undergraduate and graduate program reviews, emphasize discovery learning in the undergraduate curriculum, plan for improving the participation of women and underrepresented groups, find ways to involve graduate students in research earlier in their careers, and develop the teaching skills of graduate and postdoctoral trainees. Departments were meant to increase the number of undergraduates majoring in the mathematical sciences; they were also to use graduate traineeships to increase the quality of student training, but increasing the number of graduate students was not an explicit goal.
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On the basis of its broad experience in research and education endeavors and from observing the rates of progress in the departments that have held VIGRE grants, the committee concludes that 5 years is not enough time for a department to accomplish the goals set out by DMS for the VIGRE program. It is not clear to the committee that a department can successfully put in place a range of initiatives that will be self-maintaining in the time currently allotted by a grant.
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From page 44... ...
TABLE 3-1 VIGRE Awardees, 1999-2012, by Institution, Department, and Academic Grant Years May May May May May May May May May May May May May 1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010- 2011 May May May May- May May May May May May May May May Institution Department 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Brown University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Carnegie Mellon Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University Carnegie Mellon Mathematical Sciences, 1st 2nd 3rd University Statistics Columbia University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Cornell University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Duke University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Georgia Tech Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Harvard University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Indiana University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Iowa State University Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th New York University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th North Carolina State Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University Ohio State University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Pennsylvania State Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University Princeton University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Purdue University Mathematics, Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Rensselaer Polytechnic Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Institute Rice University Mathematics, Statistics, 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Applied Mathematics Rutgers University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd Stanford University Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th State University of Mathematics, Applied 1st 2nd 3rd New York at Stony Mathematics and Brook Statistics Texas A&M University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Tulane University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Arizona Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of California Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd at Berkeley
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University of California Statistics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th at Berkeley University of California Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th at Davis University of California Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th at Los Angeles University of Chicago Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Colorado Applied Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Georgia Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Illinois at Mathematics, Statistics, 1st 2nd 3rd Chicago Computer Science University of Illinois at Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Urbana-Champaign University of Iowa Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Maryland Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Michigan Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Texas Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Utah Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th University of Mathematics, Applied 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Washington Mathematics, Statistics University of Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Wisconsin Yale University Mathematics 1st 2nd 3rd NOTE: Louisiana State University's award is not shown because it was made after this study began. SOURCE: National Science Foundation.
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