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Targeted Professionals’ Meeting for Academic Support Services

Hosted by Franklin and Marshall College on October 14, 2002

Attended by: Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Bucknell, Colgate, Franklin and Marshall, Haverford,  Lafayette and  Vassar 

Meeting Summary:

Hosted by Dean Ralph Taber, the Meeting was the first in a series designed to extend interest in promoting high achievement and satisfaction among students of color.  The Meeting goals were the following:

  • Share information that allows each college to develop an Action Plan for their campus

  • Review “Best Practices” for each area of student support services

  • Potentially develop group projects to allow cross-institutional cooperation

The five-hour meeting opened with a presentation by keynote speaker Earnestine Baker, Executive Director of The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  Ms. Baker focused on: 

  • The logistics of a program with a 95% success rate of placing students in graduate and professional programs in the sciences.

  • The components of support that go beyond study skills and analytic problem solving, including public speaking, etiquette, and early exposure to career options.

  • The summer bridge program as a critical component in developing group support, commitment to academic excellence and resilience in the face of major challenges.

Participants discussed successful components of their own summer and academic support programs.  Some found that they have pieces of the Meyerhoff program, that may not work together as a holistic process.  It was widely agreed that greater campus involvement, from admissions to faculty, would increase the effectiveness of such programs.

The group of attendees will complete an action plan to improve programs for each of their campuses.  The group will  reconvene on an annual basis.  They and all other targeted professionals groups are invited to participate in the Consortium's annual conference: All-Consortium Meeting - January 15-16, 2003

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