SUNY Empire PRODiG Scholars Program

SUNY PRODiG Logo

In fall 2020, SUNY Empire launched the PRODiG Scholars Program to support undergraduate and graduate students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations, who are interested in pursuing a career in the professoriate.

This program aligns with SUNY Empire's goal to increase and support the success of a diverse students as well as the goals identified as part of the SUNY PRODiG initiative. PRODiG, which stands for Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth, aims to increase the numbers of historically underrepresented faculty at SUNY, including in general and women of all races in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

SUNY Empire PRODiG scholars are paired with a coach who will provide them with information about careers in academia, what to expect in graduate and doctoral programs, and how to prepare for graduate/doctoral study, as well as coaching, shadowing/internship opportunities, and peer support. Scholars are expected to thoughtfully evaluate their interest and potential for a career in academia, participate in monthly meetings and programming, regularly engage with their coach, and take part in other program-related activities.

Student Eligibility

The SUNY Empire PRODiG Scholars program is open to undergraduate and graduate students who meet the following criteria:

  • Have an interest in learning more about a career as a faculty member at a college or university
  • Are currently matriculated in a SUNY Empire degree program and expected to graduate within four academic terms (recent graduates may participate in the program but will not benefit from available funding and funded programming)
  • Have an overall GPA of 3.0 for undergraduate students or overall GPA of 3.5 for graduate students
  • Are in good academic standing
  • Self‐identify as a members of a group designated by the SUNY PRODiG initiative as underrepresented in academia, including women in STEM

  • The program was created in response to the need for a pipeline to diversify the faculty body at SUNY and SUNY Empire. 
  • To this date, a total of 20 undergraduate and 22 graduate students have been served by the program and paired with coaches.
  • Approximately 20 faculty/professional employees have volunteered their time to work with and serve as mentors to the scholars.
  • Scholars are required to attend webinars that cover topics such as impostor syndrome, building your curriculum vitae, preparing for graduate studies, and getting your research published.

First Cohort - 2020-21 Academic Year

  • The first cohort consisted of 12 participants. Seventy-five percent of the students self‐identified as Black or African American, 8% as
    Hispanic, 50% as women, and 16% as an LGBTQ member.
  • At the end of the first year of the program, three scholars were accepted into an advanced graduate program.
  • A 2020‐21 scholar completed an internship with the Brooklyn Court as the result of networking activities sponsored by the program.
  • Two scholars served as editors of the Journal for Engaged Research during their research assistantship in 2020‐21.
  • During Spring 2021, seven scholars participated in unfunded research or teaching assistantships with the coaches.

Second Cohort - 2021-22 Academic Year

  • The second cohort consisted of 20 participants. Forty-five percent of the students self‐identified as Black or African American, 5% as Hispanic, 10% as Asian, 40% as women pursuing a STEM or STEM education degree, and 15% as individuals with disabilities.
  • Ten 2021‐22 Scholars are completing the Teaching and Learning for New
    Faculty Certificate offered by the SUNY Center for Professional Development.
  • A proposal submitted by a 2021‐22 Scholar to present at the 2022 Women in CyberSecurity Conference was accepted and received a small scholarship to support her attendance to the conference.
  • A participant co-published an article with her faculty advisor on early childhood STEM identities in Literacy Today.
  • Four participants were selected to virtually present posters at the SUNY Graduate Research Conference in Spring 2022.
  • A participant won the Rockefeller Institute Policy Competition after presenting research and a policy proposal titled Mitigation of Linguistic Segregation with Machine Translation Technology.
  • During Fall 2021, 19 scholars engaged in funded research and teaching assistantships led by faculty across SUNY Empire.
  • During Spring 2022, 10 scholars engaged in unfunded research and teaching assistantships led by faculty across SUNY Empire.