NMSU among 21 finalists for 2018 Excelencia in Education recognition

Excelencia in Education is the only national organization that recognizes evidence-based programs that accelerate Latino student success in higher education.

NMSU’s Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement: RISE to the Post-Doctorate is among 21 finalists overall and one of only three graduate level finalists competing to be named 2018 Examples of Excelencia.

The organization will name one winner in each of four categories– Associate, Baccalaureate, Graduate, and Community-Based Organizations – at its annual Celebración de Excelencia Thursday, Oct. 11 in Washington, D. C.

The RISE program works to diversify biomedical and biobehavioral fields by focusing on underrepresented groups for Ph.D. completion. The program prepares master’s degree and doctoral level students for the next step in their careers through research mentorship, professional development, workshops and more.

Over the last 18 years, the NMSU RISE program has supported degree completion by 36 Latino Ph.D. students and 45 Latino master’s degree students with 94 percent completion rate for Ph.D. students and 84 percent completion rate for master’s students. Combined with other minority students, the RISE program has supported graduate degree completion by 91 NMSU STEM graduate students over 18 years.

Biology professor Marvin Bernstein, now retired, founded the RISE program at NMSU in 2000 with funds from a five-year award from the National Institutes of Health. He was succeeded by NMSU Regents Professor Elba Serrano, who led the program from January 2008 through July 2018, joined by biology professors Shelley Lusetti and Graciela Unguez in August 2013. The program was renewed for a fifth cycle of NIH support in August 2018 under the guidance of Michele Nishiguchi, biology professor and department head, Igor Sevostianov, mechanical engineering professor,and Dean of the College of Engineering Lakshmi Reddi.

To view a video about the NMSU RISE program’s history, visit the Excelencia in Education website at https://www.edexcelencia.org/programs-initiatives/growing-what-works-database/research-initiative-scientific-enhancement-rise .