PROMISE Program
PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) is a university system-wide effort for the state of Maryland to facilitate underrepresented STEM graduate student and postdoctoral professional development and pathways to careers. UMBC leads the alliance that consists of all 14 colleges, universities, and regional education centers in the University System of Maryland, four community colleges, and a former NSF Model Institution of Excellence Hispanic Serving Institution in Puerto Rico. PROMISE has been a critical catalyst for increasing enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of underrepresented minorities. The program will also contribute to the higher education literature on retention and professional development for graduate students and postdocs. The Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Professors-in-Training program for Maryland’s institutions (including Master’s serving institutions, HBCUs, community colleges, and an HSI) are among the innovations that respond to AGEP’s call to support the national goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities who will enter academic STEM careers.
Dr. Erin Golembewski, Senior Associate Dean, is the Co-Principal Investigator for the collaborative AGEP. She also serves on a number of committees and organizations, including the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. egole001@umaryland.edu