Millennium Scholars Research Articles

Virtual Cross-Cultural Mentorship: Insights into the Millennium Scholars Program

Virtual Cross-Cultural Mentorship: Insights into the Millennium Scholars Program

Validation of the Awareness Atlas-a new measure of the manifestation of consciousness.

Consciousness has intrigued philosophers and scholars for millennia and has been the topic of considerable scientific investigation in recent decades. Despite its importance, there is no unifying definition of the term, nor are there widely accepted measures of consciousness. Indeed, it is likely that consciousness-by its very nature-eludes measurement. It is, however, possible to measure how consciousness manifests as a lived experience. Yet here, too, holistic measures are lacking. This investigation describes the development and validation of the Awareness Atlas, a measure of the manifestation of consciousness. The scale was informed by heart-based contemplative practices and the resulting lived experience with a focus on the impacts of manifestation of consciousness on daily life. Four hundred forty-nine individuals from the USA, Canada, India, and Europe participated in psychometric testing of the scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used for validation, demonstrating excellent validity in measuring manifestation of consciousness. The final model fit exceeded all required thresholds, indicating an excellent fitted model with a single dimensionality to measure the manifestation of consciousness comprised of four subscales: Relationship to Others; Listening to the Heart; Connection with Higher Self; and Acceptance and Letting Go. Number of years meditating and practicing Heartfulness meditation were positively related to the total and subscale scores. Test-retest reliability was excellent for the total scale, and good to excellent for the four subscales. Findings demonstrate that the Awareness Atlas is a well-constructed tool that will be useful in examining changes in manifestation of consciousness with various experiences (e.g., meditation, life-altering conditions).

Tribal Colleges and Universities as an Alternate Pathway for American Indian Gates Millennium Scholars

Tribal Colleges and Universities as an Alternate Pathway for American Indian Gates Millennium Scholars

Time-traveling through land and sea: unearthing the past to cultivate seeds of present and future solidarity

In order to understand our present and future work in planting the seeds of solidarity, we excavate the past, through an exploration of transnational solidarity and the vestiges of U.S. legislative policy and philanthropy. Through life notes and sharing circles, we examine policies (Morrill Act of 1862, Refugee Act of 1980, and the Gates Millennium Scholars Program of 1999) that shaped our experiences as researchers, benefactors, and peoples of lands. Through a process of truth-telling and time traveling, we explore questions, tensions, and contradictions of our histories, our place in this world, and our interconnections with each other. We offer seeds that recognizes the juxtaposition of solidarity, a knowing of others’ deep history, perplexing the abject and magical, and clairvoyance reflexivity. The work examines how we bond in difference and in the struggle, in qualitative research and in our lives.

176-OR: STIM1 Deletion Leads to Loss of Beta-Cell Identity in High-Fat Diet-Fed Female Mice

STIM1 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium (Ca2+) sensor that replenishes ER Ca2+ stores in a process known as store operated calcium entry (SOCE). Previously, we have shown that SOCE is impaired in the diabetic pancreatic β cell; however, the consequences of reduced β cell SOCE have not been well studied. To this end, mice with pancreatic β cell specific deletion of STIM1 (STIM1Δβ) were generated by crossing STIM1flox/flox with Ins-Cre mice and fed a high fat diet (HFD) beginning at 8 wk of age. Male STIM1Δβ mice did not show changes in glucose tolerance or body composition. In contrast, female HFD-fed STIM1Δβ mice were heavier (25.1 vs. 28.3 g, p<0.05), had increased fat mass (4.9 vs. 8.2g, P<0.01), and exhibited significant glucose intolerance (AUC IPGTT 22461 vs. 29245 mg/dL*min; p<0.0001) with impaired insulin secretion by in-vivo GSIS (p<0.05) without differences insulin tolerance, energy expenditure or food intake. Bulk RNA-sequencing of wild-type and STIM1Δβ female islets revealed reduced expression of MafA, UCN3, and Ins1 and Ins2 in STIM1Δβ islets, indicating potential loss of β cell identity. Pathway analysis showed modulation of pathways related to 17-beta estradiol (E2) signaling, with downregulation of a G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER), while differentially expressed genes were enriched for functions related to apoptosis, lipid metabolism, and epithelial cell differentiation. Consistently, STIM1Δβ female mice had lower β cell mass (2.984 mg vs. 1.349 mg, p<0.05) and higher alpha cell mass (0.1822 mg vs. 0.4463 mg, p<0.05). Proteomics analysis performed in STIM1-deficient INS-1 cells revealed significantly increased glucagon expression. Further, lower mobilization of intracellular cAMP levels was noted in response to treatment with E2 or G1, an agonist of GPER. These findings suggest a role for STIM1 in the maintenance of pancreatic β cell identity and indicate a potential interaction between SOCE and E2 signaling in female mice. Disclosure P. Sohn: None. P. Krishnan: None. C. Lee: None. T. Kono: None. C. Evans-molina: Advisory Panel; Self; Provention Bio, Inc., Consultant; Self; Dompe, Other Relationship; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Nimbus Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Inc. Funding National Institutes of Health (5T32DK064466-17, 5F30DK123996); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2-I01BX001733); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (1R01DK093954-06A1); Indiana University School of Medicine; Gates Millennium Scholars Program

Comparative Phonorhetorical Analyses of Speeches in the Zuo Commentary and the Discourses of the States

Abstract Research methods employing large-scale databases of digital texts and digital lexica can assist in the detection of the ways phonetic patterns worked in concert with semantic and syntactic structures in premodern Chinese narrative texts. When applied to the speeches by eminent ministers preserved in the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Discourses of the States, close examinations of the tripartite framework of sound, meaning, and structure allow a deeper understanding of the phonorhetorical techniques employed by their composers (and/or transmitters), emphasizing key terms and imparting subtle feelings of grandeur and harmony. In comparative context, analyses of stylistic elements at scale provide insights into the rhetorical choices made by different authors in formative periods of Chinese literature, choices that informed and influenced future writers and scholars for millennia thereafter.

Does Financial Aid Impact College Student Engagement?

While increasing numbers of students have gained access to higher education during the last several decades, postsecondary persistence and academic success remain serious concerns with only about half of college entrants completing degrees. Given concerns about affordability and resources, policymakers and administrators wonder how financial aid impacts student outcomes, particularly among low-income students. We investigate this question looking at a range of outcomes beyond just academic performance by focusing on the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program, a generous grant program that provided a renewable scholarship to talented undergraduate students of color with financial need. We isolate the impact of financial aid on academic and community engagement by comparing the outcomes of GMS recipients to similar non-recipients who were likely to have comparably-high levels of motivation and potential for success. With information about the application process, we use similar applicants not selected for the award as a comparison group. We then employ a Regression Discontinuity research design to provide causal estimates of the effects of GMS. The results suggest that GMS recipients were more likely to engage with peers on school work outside of class. Additionally, GMS recipients were much more likely to participate in community service activities and marginally more likely to participate in other extracurricular activities than their non-GMS peers.

"Two souls, two thoughts," two self-schemas: double consciousness can have positive academic consequences for African Americans.

African Americans can experience a double consciousness-the two-ness of being an American and an African American. The present research hypothesized that: (a) double consciousness can function as 2 self-schemas-an independent self-schema tied to mainstream American culture and an interdependent self-schema tied to African American culture, and (b) U.S. educational settings can leverage an interdependent self-schema associated with African American culture through inclusive multicultural practices to facilitate positive academic consequences. First, a pilot experiment and Studies 1 and 2 provided evidence that double consciousness can be conceptualized as 2 self-schemas. That is, African Americans shifted their behavior (e.g., cooperation) in schema-relevant ways from more independent when primed with mainstream American culture to more interdependent when primed with African American culture. Then, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that incorporating African American culture within a university setting enhanced African Americans' persistence and performance on academic-relevant tasks. Finally, using the Gates Millennium Scholars dataset (Cohort 1), Study 5 conceptually replicated Studies 3 and 4 and provided support for one process that underlies the observed positive academic consequences. Specifically, Study 5 provided evidence that engagement with African American culture (e.g., involvement with cultural events/groups) on college campuses makes an interdependent self-schema more salient that increases African American students' sense of academic fit and identification, and, in turn, enhances academic performance (self-reported grades) and persistence (advanced degree enrollment in a long-term follow-up). The discussion examines double consciousness as a basic psychological phenomenon and suggests the intra- and intergroup benefits of inclusive multicultural settings.

The impact of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program on college and post-college related choices of high ability, low-income minority students

In this paper we analyze the impact of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program on several outcome variables using a regression discontinuity design. We find that GMS recipients have lower college loan debt and parental contributions toward college expenses and work fewer hours during college than non-recipients. We also find that GMS recipients have higher grade point averages in their junior year of college and are more likely to aspire to a Ph.D. degree than non-recipients.

Table of Contents

Abstract Cover Story Evaluate noncognitive factors to help ensure a more diverse class Implement a holistic admissions process that predicts success, boosts diversity Gates Millennium Scholars chosen based on noncognitive variables Learn what noncognitive factors to consider in admission decisions Idea File Consider whether to offer degrees based on knowledge assessment Refer students to an online tutorial on completing the FAFSA Communicate total enrollment cost to admitted students Review report featuring NFL tips for enrollment managers Student‐Veterans Understand student‐veterans' needs to help them succeed Retention Retain adult students by building relationships Keep cohort scheduling simple for staff, students Market success to adult students Managing Your Office Give your career a boost with conference plans What Would You Do? How can you improve your bottom line? Lawsuits & Rulings DISABILITY University reconsiders decision to dismiss student with disability FERPA FPCO cannot investigate complaint submitted by third party DISMISSAL Dismissed doctoral student gets chance for jury trial Leaders & Innovators DAVID JOHNSON, VICE PROVOST FOR THE OFFICE OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT, INDIANA UNIVERSITY AT BLOOMINGTON Guide unit in making improvements based on vision, goals Be effective, achieve goals with these strategies

<em>The Impact of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program on College Choice for High-Achieving, Low-Income African American Students</em>

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influenced the college choice process for high-achieving, low-income African American students, and to understand the effect of the Gates Millennium Scholarship on their college choice. Drawing from the Gates Millennium Scholar Tracking Database, a College Choice Survey, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 231 high-achieving, low-income African American students who were selected as part of the 2012 cohort of Gates Millennium Scholars were surveyed. Data revealed the role of financial aid and college costs in the college choice process, and that being selected as a Gates Millennium Scholars enabled students to choose colleges that were more prestigious and institutions with more academic offerings. Implications research, policy, and practice are presented in the summary of the article.Keywords: Gates Millennium Scholars, low-income students, high-achieving students, grant aid, college choiceIntroductionFor several decades, policymakers and the constituents they serve have been deeply concerned about the rising cost of American higher education. Students and their families have also been affected by the shift in less grant aid to more loans (Lillis, 2008). Although the Obama administration has enacted federal policies over the past few years that have increased federal student aid (Baum & Payea, 2012), the average annual percentage increase for tuition and fees across all institutional types over the last decade has been 5.2% after controlling for inflation (Baum & Ma, 2012). Given these increases have consistently outpaced the rate of inflation, the role of federal, state, institutional, and private grant aid has been increasingly important for students from low- and moderate-incomes to attend the college of their choice.The role of grant aid in expanding college access and choice is particularly important for lowincome African American students given they disproportionately come from lower socioeconomic contexts and represent the racial/ethnic group that is most sensitive to the cost of higher education (Pema & Titus, 2005). Understanding how the timing, packaging, marketing, and actual distribution of grant aid affects different types of students is fundamentally important to expand college access and choice for all groups of students (Litten, 1982). However, much remains to be known about the role of grant aid in the college choice processes of different subgroups of collegegoing students. Granted that high-achieving, low-income African American students are substantially more likely to face socioeconomic challenges (Pema & Titus, 2005), but have more postsecondary options than their lower-performing peers (Hurtado, Inkelas, Briggs, & Rhee, 1997), a clearer understanding about how this subgroup of students choose their college of choice can help policymakers, college admissions officers, high school counselors, and community leaders understand the most effective methods to market, package, and distribute grant aid to this highly-qualified group of college-going students.OVERVIEW OF THE GATES MILLENNIUM SCHOLARS PROGRAMOne of the largest and most widely distributed forms of private grant aid created to assist lowincome, high-achieving African Americans (and other students of color) is the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program, chiefly administered by UNCF (United Negro College Fund). While higher education has shifted from grants to loans in recent decades, the GMS Program was established in 1999 with a 20-year $1.6 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce the financial constraints of low-income, high-achieving students who aspire to earn a postsecondary education. While the GMS Program offers leadership development, academic empowerment, and mentorship to its Scholars, perhaps the most appealing component of the GMS Program is its national scholarship, which provides up to 10 years of renewable grant aid that covers the full cost of attendance for 1,000 high-achieving, low-income students of color each year to enroll in their college of choice and earn their undergraduate and graduate degrees. …

College Student Engagement and Early Career Earnings: Differences by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Academic Preparation

Using longitudinal data from the 2001 cohort of applicants to the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program, the authors examined scaled measures of academic and social engagement in relation to labor market earnings to test whether the economic value of student engagement among high-achieving students of color differs by student characteristics. Results confirm that academic and social engagement during college had differential effects on early career earnings. Findings suggest conditional effects of student engagement on labor market outcomes, providing evidence for individual and institutional decisions and theory building related to the lasting influence of student engagement in college.

Breaking Through the Access Barrier: How Academic Capital Formation Can Improve Policy in Higher Education (review)

Reviewed by: Breaking Through the Access Barrier: How Academic Capital Formation Can Improve Policy in Higher Education Noah D. Drezner Breaking Through the Access Barrier: How Academic Capital Formation Can Improve Policy in Higher Education. Edward St. John, Shouping Hu, and Amy Fisher. New York: Routledge, 2010, 296 pages, $44.95 (softcover) In a very interesting and informative book, Edward St. John, Shouping Hu, and Amy Fisher look at different educational interventions intended to improve college access for first-generation and/or low-income, working class students. Breaking Through the Access Barrier: How Academic Capital Formation Can Improve Policy in Higher Education focuses on three programs that support socioeconomically disadvantaged students’ entrance into college. Each of the three programs, Gates Millennium Scholars, Twenty-First Century Scholars, and Washington State Achievers, use a combination of interventions including academic support and financial assistance. It should be noted that the Gates Millennium Scholars program focuses their support on African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students across the country and allows students to attend any college or university along with support for graduate school in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science. The Twenty-First Century Scholars program is geared toward low-and moderate-income families in Indiana who attend a public college or university within the state. Finally, the Washington State Achievers program, also funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, targets low income students at 16 Washington state high schools and, similar to the Twenty-First Century Scholars program, supports participants’ attendance at in-state colleges and universities. Noting their interest in these three programs for their “exemplary” status, St. John, Hu, and Fisher focus on how these interventions combine opportunities for ongoing support services for families that promote understanding about the benefits of college and possibilities for funding college beginning earlier than many other precollege programs. St. John, Hu, and Fisher do a very good job in introducing the concept of Academic Capital Formation (ACF). They developed this new theory by building upon social processes in human capital theory (Becker, 1975), social capital theory (Coleman, 1988), and social reproduction theory (Bourdieu, 1972). Academic Capital Formation is a set of social processes that allows a first-generation college student and, notably, their family to develop new levels of educational attainment and success. Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies to support their theory development, St. John, Hu, and Fisher expand the definition of academic success beyond degree attainment and professional employment to a definition that includes “a commitment to cross-generational uplift, to enable subsequent generations to have the opportunity to achieve academic and career success” (p. 171). As such, the authors examine six components of academic capital formation: (a) concerns about college costs; (b) social networking; (c) trust; (d) information; (e) cultural capital; and (f) abitual patterns, through an “explicit focus on the academic and civic aspects of the capital formation” (p. 171). [End Page 482] Breaking Through the Access Barrier is a well written, self-proclaimed, textbook that will be valuable in both courses specifically focusing on college access issues as well as more general higher education policy courses. The mixed method approach to understanding current initiatives and possible future policy implications is very valuable. The extensive data, collected from multiple sources, provides a comprehensive look at college access intervention programs, which can help both intended college students and their families. Qualitative data gathered from one-on-one interviews and focus groups with students and parents participating in the Gates Millennium Scholars, Twenty-First Century Scholars, and Washington State Achievers programs are well paired with statistical data on a number of outcomes. St. John, Hu, and Fisher go beyond sharing the best practices of the exemplar programs and show how different social processes and social-psychological factors are used to improve college access. As such, they find that information about college is more likely to be used when it comes from a source that the intended student and family deem to be “trusted.” Further, St. John, Hu, and Fisher suggest that the college access process does not simply end upon matriculation but should include major selection and perhaps...

A Quasi-Experimental Investigation of How the Gates Millennium Scholars Program Is Related to College Students’ Time Use and Activities

A national scholarship program provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is designed to improve access to and success in higher education for low-income high-achieving minority students by providing them with full tuition scholarships and non-monetary support. We use a regression discontinuity approach to investigate whether the receipt of the scholarship changes the use of time and participation in different activities among college students during their freshmen and junior years. We find that receiving a Gates scholarship reduces hours worked per week, as well as influencing high participation in volunteering activities and cultural events. The sub-group analyses reveal racial/ethnic differences in the allocation of time to and the levels of participation in various activities in response to the Gates scholarship.

Initial Evidence on the Influence of College Student Engagement on Early Career Earnings

Using data from three waves of longitudinal surveys of the 2001 freshman cohort of the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program, this study examined linkages between student engagement in college activities and early career earnings in the labor market. The results indicated that social engagement was positively related to early career earnings of college graduates while academic engagement was not. When considering students who majored in STEM fields versus those in non-STEM fields, results showed academic engagement to be positively related to early career earnings for non-STEM students but slightly negatively related to earnings in the labor market for STEM students. Social engagement was positive for graduates in the STEM fields but not significant for non-STEM students. Altogether, results show a complex relationship between student engagement and early career earnings. Implications for research and institutional policy are discussed.

Are Students of Color More Likely to Graduate From College if They Attend More Selective Institutions?

The study takes advantage of the nontraditional selection process of the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program to test the association between selectivity of 4-year institution attended as well as other noncognitive variables on the college completion rates of a sample of students of color. The results of logistic regression and propensity score matching suggest these students are slightly more likely to graduate from college if they attend a highly selective institution. There is also evidence that other noncognitive variables such as leadership are good predictors of college completion. This suggests that admission offices interested in attracting a more diverse student body might want to consider expanding the traditional admission criteria.

<i>Resources, Assets, and Strengths among Successful Diverse Students: Understanding the Contributions of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 23)</i> (review)

<i>Resources, Assets, and Strengths among Successful Diverse Students: Understanding the Contributions of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (Readings on Equal Education, Vol. 23)</i> (review)

Creating an incubator for global leadership

Leader to LeaderVolume 2006, Issue 41 p. 71-74 Research Article Creating an incubator for global leadership Margaret Daniels Tyler, Margaret Daniels Tyler Gates Millennium Scholars ProgramSearch for more papers by this author Margaret Daniels Tyler, Margaret Daniels Tyler Gates Millennium Scholars ProgramSearch for more papers by this author First published: 11 August 2006 https://doi.org/10.1002/ltl.197Citations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume2006, Issue41Summer 2006Pages 71-74 RelatedInformation

THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF MEMORY

THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF MEMORY. Edited by E. Tulving and F. Craik .2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Price £45. Pp. 714. ISBN 0‐19512‐265‐8. The intricacies of human memory have fascinated philosophers and scholars for millennia. It is not surprising that it is so. Memory represents a key psychological process, allowing us to re‐experience events from our past which may have taken place hours, days, months or even many years ago. Memory underlies other key psychological and behavioural processes such as perception, language and movement. And memory is also crucial for our sense of consciousness: without memory we would have no real sense of self or personal identity. Because memory and learning have such a profound influence on other aspects of human existence, the scientific study of memory within experimental psychology (and the related cognitive and brain sciences) has—historically—been inseparable from the scientific study of mental life and behaviour. Moreover, not only has memory fascinated people for centuries, but—in the present day—it is one of the most active and fertile areas of contemporary psychological thought and practice. However, Tulving and Craik note that this is the first handbook of memory that has ever been published, and suggest a possible explanation: they make the point that memory research has perhaps been too successful for its own good. The case is made by Tulving and Craik that, such has been the pace of growth in the field, it has not been possible until the present day for the body of contemporary understanding in the field to be neatly encapsulated in a medium of this kind. Memory is a complex, diverse and heterogeneous entity. How does one begin to try to define its features, characteristics and organizing principles? In this volume, Tulving and Craik define memory as ‘the ability to recollect past events and …

New Faces Of The Millennium

Earlier this month, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a program aimed at changing the face—literally—of the scientific, technical, and medical community in the next millennium. On Sept. 16, Bill Gates pledged $1 billion over a 20-year period to provide financial assistance to highachieving minority students who otherwise would be excluded from higher education. The program is called the Millennium Scholars Program and will be administered by the United Negro College Fund. The size of the program and its tenure both auger well for success. With a payout of $50 million per year, the program is large enough to make a difference by providing financial assistance each year to about 1,000 new students from the African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian American communities. Equal in importance to the size of the gift is the 20-year commitment of funds, which recognizes the challenging nature of increasing the number of minority students in higher ...