Office of Public Engagement

Fourteen students from across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign MSI Alliance partner institutions participated in the Illinois MSI Alliance Spring Student Forum held on Friday, February 17, 2023 to build on conversations held during the July 2022 Illinois MSI Alliance Explorations Program. Dr. Wanda Ward, Executive Associate Chancellor for Public Engagement kicked off the virtual program by discussing the objectives of the Illinois MSI Alliance, including increasing the number of underrepresented students pursuing and obtaining doctoral degrees leading to successful careers in academia and beyond, and the long-term commitment the Office of Public Engagement has in meeting these goals. She also discussed the upcoming Illinois MSI Alliance Student Summer Research Experience, which will hold its inaugural program during summer 2023.

A morning roundtable, led by Illinois MSI Alliance Co-Chair, Dr. Lynford Goddard, Director of the Grainger College of Engineering Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA), provided an opportunity to hear directly from the students and engage in their specific research interest. Students actively participated and provided feedback on what they hoped to benefit from the Illinois MSI Alliance such as opportunities for large-scale interdisciplinary research projects as well as possible leadership- and network-building activities. Dr. Goddard, along with the other two Illinois MSI Alliance Co-Chairs, Dr. Antoinette Burton and Dr. Gene Robison gave examples of programs their research institutes have in place that address some of these opportunities:

Dr. Burton discussed the Humanities Research Institute’s (HRI) program Humanities Without Walls, and how the current graduate students in the program echo the calls for experiences that will bring students from diverse backgrounds together.

Dr. Robinson explained that the University of Illinois has set up their research institutes to broaden participation across disciplines. He described the research institutes as connective tissue to build relationships throughout the university colleges and departments. For example, the Institute of Genomic Biology (IGB) is the intersection of biology, engineering and some social sciences that work together on several grand challenges. IGB students and faculty are offered opportunities for professional development. One example is the IGB Random Coffee Talks where faculty are paired up to discuss a research idea for 45 minutes – sometimes some interesting ideas come of these sessions.

Dr. Goddard reflected on programs offered at the IDEA Institute in the Grainger College of Engineering that might be of interest to the MSI students. The mission of the IDEA Institute is to support scholarship, innovation, collaboration, and leadership in the areas of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access at all levels. One of the Institute’s projects include the Grassroots Initiatives to Address Needs Together (GIANT). Some of the topics addressed by GIANT are mentoring, graduate programs for women, and the addition of engineering terms in sign language. Another initiative, the IDEA Allies encourages students to work together to problem solve.

The afternoon session was an interactive workshop entitled, “Imagine You,” led by Dr. Victor McCrary, Vice President for Research and Professor of Chemistry at the University of the District of Columbia and Vice Chair of the National Science Board. Dr. McCrary continued his dialog with the students from his 2022 Illinois MSI Alliance Summer Explorations Program keynote address on the importance of diversity in research across all fields of study. Dr. McCrary’s goal of the workshop was to help students understand their value proposition and offered tips on utilizing innovative prospects to gain the skills needed such as business knowledge, project management, cost estimation, and organizational design to be competitive in today’s job market. Some of Dr. McCrary’s interesting insights from a University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business course entitled: Playing the Game included:

• You must initiate and maintain network connections and those networks should lead to the outcomes you would like.
• You should always carry a business card because you never know who you are going to meet. Serendipity is a real thing. Don’t waste interactions with people.
• A mentor is someone who advises you, but a sponsor is someone in the room who will stand up for you.
• The game is rigged against people of color, don’t be a victim.
• Be sure to take courses outside your major field of study.
• Have a good network of people that have skillsets you don’t – you should be able to pick up the phone and find help on things you don’t know.

Dr. McCrary closed by stating, “It doesn’t matter what you look like when the temperature rises – we will need all hands-on deck to address the climate crisis and other expanded spaces that will present future challenges.”