Principal Investigator: Melanie Ragin

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): 

This is a new proposal to establish a Cornell University (CU) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine's (DVM) Multicultural Scholars Program (MSP), which aims to increase the number of those Underrepresented in Veterinary Medicine (URVM). The Cornell MSP has 3 achievable and quantifiable objectives: 1) Recruit 5 URVM Cornell CVM DVM students who show a strong interest in careers in agricultural/renewable natural resource sciences. In partnership with CVM DVM Student Services and Admissions and the CVM DVM Admissions committee, Scholars will be selected using a holistic admission review, which takes into account factors such as a student's strength of coursework, academic and extracurricular interests, unique talents, and background; 2) Retain 100% of Scholars by matching Scholars with trained faculty and peer mentors beginning the summer prior to their first year, and continuing through the academic year for their entire 4 years. Additionally, 100% of Scholars will join/attend, along with benefiting from culturally-appropriate academic and peer mentoring, professional development, and leadership, along with a focus on dedicated well-being support, leading to their successful graduation and veterinary careers; 3) Incorporate Special Experiential learning (SEL). 100% of Scholars will engage in an authentic mentored research project and internship/externship opportunities in a USDA-NIFA area of emphasis, culminating in a capstone paper and presentation. MSP Scholars will be evaluated twice a year and data will be used for programmatic assessment/improvement.