The Science and Engineering Committee on Multicultural Affairs (SECMA), composed of faculty members, graduate students, and administrators, was established in December 2004 with the goal of recruiting and retaining underrepresented graduate students in academic careers in Sciences and Engineering. SECMA pursues this goal in accordance with Northwestern University’s policies to  create a diverse community and better prepare students for the challenges ahead  as “the United States is becoming  increasingly diverse and the working world increasingly globalized” [stated by President Bienen  in the “2001 State of the University Speech,” http://www.northwestern.edu/diversity/president/; See also the Faculty Diversity Committee Report to the Community 2004-2005].

SECMA resulted from the merger of two preexistent committees with the same goal. The Life Sciences Committee focused on biological sciences graduate programs and the McCormick Committee focused on Engineering programs. The merger took place shortly after NSF awarded the Graduate School an Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) grant to triple the number of underrepresented minority doctoral graduates in science, engineering, and math, and to place them in academic positions.  To this end SECMA supports a variety of initiatives, including the Bridge to the Doctorate program.

To learn more about AGEP national efforts, visit the national AGEP website: http://www.agep.us/

To see our Fall 2007 newsletter click here.

Bruce Lindvall is the chair and Bob Holmgren is the co-chair of SECMA. Under their direction, five subcommittees contribute to accomplishing SECMA’s mission. The subcommittees are:

* Pathways to Career Success: Charged with increasing retention and success of underrepresented students enrolled in Northwestern Science and Engineering programs. This involves helping students navigate all stages of the PhD path -- graduate school, postdoctoral appointments, and ultimately professorial positions.

* School Visits: Charged with developing an overall strategy for recruitment, including selecting schools and other recruiting venues and aiding NU departments in building lasting relationships with targeted schools.

* SROP: The Summer Research Opportunities Program brings to campus excellent candidates for future graduate students and offers an ideal opportunity to evaluate potential applicants and entice them to apply to and eventually enroll at Northwestern. 

* Publications: Charged with developing a broad range of materials--targeting different audiences--instantly available to faculty, graduate students and postdocs who volunteer to recruit while they are at conferences and other universities.

* Conference Review: Charged with developing a selection process for student participation in minority conferences, organizing workshops to help students improve their writing and presentation skills, and preparing guidelines to help students present their most positive image.

SECMA Contacts: