South Carolina University News October 12, 2011 SC State University's Honors College Launches New Research Initiative with the University of Arkansas SC State University's Honors College recently developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Arkansas, a land-grant institution established in 1862 located in Fayetteville, Ark. The MOU will address the discontented persistence of the practice of lingering effects of racial discrimination against African-Americans by formalizing participation in the University of Arkansas' George Washington Carver Research Program (GWCRP). The MOU will be used to plan and implement a consistent approach to increasing the successful participation of SC State students in graduate and professional education programs as they prepare for graduate and professional careers. The objectives of this memorandum are to identify undergraduate students with ability and interest in pursuing a graduate or professional education; to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to intern with faculty members at the University of Arkansas who are committed to increasing the ethnic, gender and racial diversity of the academy; to provide undergraduate students with practical tips as to what to expect in the application process and selection of a graduate or professional program; to encourage undergraduate students to pursue terminal degrees upon graduation; and to increase the ethnic, gender and racial diversity of the University of Arkansas graduate and professional student body as a collaboration with SC State University through the GWCRP. The program began in 1997 as an initiative to increase the ethnic diversity of the graduate and professional student body at the University of Arkansas. To date, over 25 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) participate in the GWCRP. GWCRP interns are encouraged to immerse themselves fully in their respective area of research. Their participation requires mandatory workshops, weekly meetings, completion of a graduate-level research project and a research paper summarizing the project. The program culminates with a poster session that is open to the University of Arkansas community. Juan L. Maultsby, program manager for the Honors College, was recently selected by the Honors College to serve as the SC State liaison to the GWCRP. "I believe this partnership with the University of Arkansas will provide our students with the additional resources to conduct research successfully and to experience diversity on a larger scale," he said. bv Dr. Harriet A. Roland, interim dean of the Honors College, is excited about the new venture that will occur between the two land-grant institutions. "Our new affiliation with the University of Arkansas will serve to establish and to facilitate additional core research components within the Honors College as it relates to undergraduate students. The GWCRP will provide our students with opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research in their fields of study, as well as to provide them with an early preview of one prospective graduate school's admissions processes." All individuals that are interested in becoming a member of the GWCRP may contact Juan L. Maultsby at (803)516-4610. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.