Multi-Institutional Transformation and Graduate Student Support Initiative (MITSI):
Building Bridges and Transforming Institutions to Support Graduate STEM Education for Indigenous and Latinx Students
Program Overview:
Northern Arizona University’s (NAU’s) MITSI program, developed in collaboration with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, aims to develop a model for systemic change in STEM graduate education through a coordinated effort across three institutions of higher learning in the Southwest: NAU Mountain Campus, Diné College, and NAU Yuma.
The MITSI program will support undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups as they move into STEM MS education at NAU and beyond, and it will build networks of faculty mentors who are trained and responsive to the needs of students from historically excluded populations.
Please go to the links below for details about the different MITSI opportunities targeting Undergraduates, potential MS Students in STEM, and Faculty at NAU and across the Southwest USA:
- The Bridge Program for Undergraduates: For Juniors and Seniors wishing to participate in a class-based program to learn about post-BS/BA opportunities in graduate school/careers.
- The MS Program in STEM: For those students who may wish to apply for a STEM program at NAU; students interested in this program are especially encouraged to apply for the Bridge Program.
- NAU STEM Faculty Academy: For faculty who wish to understand and apply principles of anti-racist and equity-oriented education.
- Family Members: For friends and family of students who wish to participate in family events associated with MITSI.
The program is a shared effort among four NAU Mountain Campus faculty, Drs. Catherine Propper, Anita Antoninka, Angelina Castagno, and Monica Brown, in collaboration with Dr. Don Robinson from Diné College and Dr. Francisco Villa from NAU Yuma. The overarching goal is to create long-term, equity-oriented systemic change through a partnership across the three institutions by reducing racial disparities in STEM graduate pathways.
This exciting program is funded through The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Northern Arizona University, and Genentech. Together, the shared vision of these contributors will lead to systemic change in the capacity to recruit, train, and place students from historically excluded groups into graduate STEM pathways.
Scholars and recipients:
2023 MITSI Scholars Accordion Closed
Ivory Bacy MS Biology, Advisor: Javier Ceja-Navarro
Amber Born MS Forestry, Advisor: Anita Antoninka
Allison Harmon – MS Biology, Advisor: Erik Settles
Kirby Morris MS Biology, Advisor: Kitty Gehring (MITSI)
Darren Olney MS Environmental Sciences, Advisor: Helen Rowe
Salix Scoresby MS Forestry, Co-advisors: Seafha Ramos and Faith Walker
2023 National Needs Fellowship Recipients (USDA funding) Accordion Closed
Tracey Begaye MS Forestry, Advisor: Pete Fule
Haley Farwell MS Forestry, Advisor: Salli Dymond
Bianca Gonzalez MS Forestry, Advisor: Jim Allen
Keven Griffen– PhD Forestry, Co-advisors: Matthew Bowker and Anita Antoninka
Madison Litzenberger– MS Forestry, Advisor: Andrew Sanchez-Meador