2013 MSI-UAN Partnership Program
This program is a collaboration between the ASBMB Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) and Undergraduate Affiliates Network Committee (UAN) to encourage the establishment of UAN chapters at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI). The program requires that an existing UAN chapter (mentor institution) forms a partnership with a MSI that is interested in establishing a new UAN for three consecutive years.  The MSI may be located in any part of the U.S., and is not limited to the region within which the mentor institution resides.

It is the hope of the ASBMB that this initiative will serve as a platform whereby young scientists from groups typically underrepresented in the molecular life sciences will learn about and engage with the work of the society.  It is our expectation that the existing UAN faculty advisor will serve as a mentor to the faculty advisor of the MSI-UAN as the new chapter develops and gets organized.  

Reasons to Join
New MSI-UAN chapters will receive the following benefits:

Mentor Institution:

1. The faculty advisor of the mentor institution will receive his/her annual membership dues to the society ($140) paid for the first year of the partnership.
2. The advisor of the mentor institution receives an $850 travel award to the 2014 ASBMB Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

MSI:

1. MSI UAN chapter membership dues will be waived for three consecutive years at up to $100 per year.
2. The MSI advisor will receive $850 travel award to the ASBMB Annual meeting for three consecutive years after chapter creation (2013, 2014, and 2015, for example).

Mentoring functions may include, but are not limited to, advising on student activities, organizing joint outreach or professional development functions (if geographically possible), giving pointers on how to navigate the ASBMB’s many UAN opportunities such as travel to the annual meeting, getting chapter funding for science outreach activities, and student participation at the annual undergraduate research competition.  The MSI-UAN member students will additionally be able to take advantage of many of the research opportunities regularly posted at the ASBMB website.
To see where a MSI is located near you, visit the U.S. Department of Education published list of Accredited Postsecondary Minority Institutions at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst-list-tab.html.

How to Apply
The following documents must be submitted:
1.A cover page containing the faculty name and contact of the mentor institution along with the faculty name and contact of the MSI.
2.A brief description of your plan for chapter establishment and immediate plans (if any) for the MSI to participate in UAN activities in the coming school year.  Examples include participation in the annual undergraduate poster competition and science outreach at local high schools.
3.A completed UAN application form with member name and contact.

Application deadline is November 30, 2013.  All application materials should be submitted to Weiyi Zhao at wzhao@asbmb.org.