ARLINGTON, Va.—The Department of the Navy’s (DoN) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program—located at the Office of Naval Research (ONR)—recently announced the inaugural winners of its Distinguished Fellows Program.
This new initiative is a joint effort between the DoN and the Department of Defense HBCU/MI Program and Outreach, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (Research, Technology and Laboratories).
It will provide six researchers (selected from six HBCU/MIs) with full-time salaries for three years—enabling them to focus exclusively on naval-relevant research, write academic papers and abstracts, engage with naval scientists and engineers, and receive mentorship.
“The Distinguished Fellows Program is another way the Department of the Navy, overall, and the Office of Naval Research, in particular, are increasing investments in HBCU/MIs,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin C. Selby. “It will strengthen the academic research at these institutions, foster new collaboration and naval partnerships, and cultivate the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
Although HBCU/MIs represent less than 2% of U.S. higher education learning institutions, they produce 25% of African-American STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) graduates, said Dr. Reginald Williams, acting director of the DoN HBCU/MI Program.
The DoN HBCU/MI Program provides avenues for HBCU/MI faculty and students to collaborate with scientists and engineers at naval labs and warfare centers, on projects of mutual interest. These include student internships, as well as faculty research experiences ranging from the ONR Summer Faculty Research Program to full, year-long sabbaticals.
The Distinguished Fellows Program plays a crucial role in such efforts by addressing a common problem facing HBCI/MI faculty: large course loads. On average, professors teach anywhere from three to five classes per semester—leaving little time for research and producing academic papers.
Contrast this with professors at larger colleges and universities, who often teach half as many courses and have more availability for research. In fact, many institutions have faculty and principal investigators solely devoted to research.
“One of my support contractors, who used to teach at an HBCU, told me about the demands of teaching four courses, mentoring students, publishing papers and submitting grants for funding research projects,” said Williams. “She lived the problem.”
Inspired to find a solution, the DoN HBCU/MI Program collaborated with the Department of Defense HBCU/MI Program and Outreach, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (Research, Technology and Laboratories). Together, they secured funding, created the Distinguished Fellows Program and sent out an announcement encouraging faculty to apply. Six applicants were selected. Applicants’ proposals were judged on naval relevance, technical merit and project implementation, student engagement strategy and personnel qualifications.
In addition to three years’ salary, each Fellow receives funding for buying new laboratory equipment and paying stipends to graduate students assisting in research.
“In the long term, the HBCU/MIs where these professors teach will build capacity in a meaningful way,” said Williams. “The professors will be able to produce innovative research resulting from the collaborative relationships they build with naval scientists and engineers—and well as from the new lab equipment. Everyone wins.”
The winners of this year’s Distinguished Fellows Program are:
—Dr. Ashfaq Adnan, professor, University of Texas at Arlington
—Dr. Marcus Alfred, associate professor, Howard University
—Dr. Daniel Limbrick, associate professor, North Carolina A&T State University
—Dr. Vilupanur A. Ravi, professor, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
—Dr. Jian Sheng, professor, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
—Dr. Victoria V. Volkis, assistant professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Learn more about the DoN HBCU/MI Program at /education-outreach/hbcu-mi-historically-black-colleges.
Warren Duffie Jr. is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.