2024 Naval Opportunity Awareness Workshop: A Showcase for HBCU/MI Science and Technology Talent

2024 Naval Opportunity Awareness Workshop: A Showcase for HBCU/MI Science and Technology Talent

Posted on Thursday, September 19, 2024

Written By Anthony C. Smith Sr., director, DoN HBCU/MI Program

I'm a living testament to the power of caring, involved teachers.

Growing up in Houston, Texas, I wasn't a very good student while attending James Madison High School, especially in science and math. Then, during my sophomore year, I met two teachers who expanded my intellectual and, ultimately, professional journey.

My biology teacher, Ms. Sigee, saw potential in me, because she told me I had the ability to be a "great science guy" - and that it didn't matter where I came from. I also had a math teacher named Mr. Nguyen, who said I had a natural aptitude for numbers and equations. He and Ms. Sigee were the first to say that I could go far studying math and science.

Their encouragement made a huge impression on me, a kid from an underserved neighborhood. I started to think there was a bigger world for me through education. As a result, I earned a biology degree from Texas Tech University, have enjoyed two decades of Navy service in various science and technology roles, and even spent a few years teaching naval science at Florida A&M University.

By believing in me, Ms. Sigee and Mr. Nguyen helped make me the man I am today. That confidence inspires me daily as director of the Department of the Navy's (DoN) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program, located at the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Virginia.

Their teaching example motivates me to find and engage with new generations of accomplished professors and talented students at HBCU/MIs - an underutilized talent pool for the DoN and the broader Department of Defense (DoD). That's why I'm so excited to invite all of you to attend the 2024 Naval Opportunity Awareness Workshop (OAW), held Sept. 10-11 right here at Texas Southern University!

The Naval OAW is the DoN HBCU/MI Program's premier yearly event. It's aimed at university and college presidents, vice presidents, provosts, faculty, staff and students from HBCU/MIs. The workshop highlights research opportunities within the Navy and Marine Corps, summer faculty/sabbatical research opportunities and student internships.

It also provides a critical platform for direct engagement between the DoN and key stakeholders, potential funding grantees and future partners. The Naval OAW serves as a way to get more HBCU/MI faculty involved in naval-relevant scientific research - and attract students to internships.

So why is the DoN interested in HBCU/MI faculty and students?

HBCU/MIs collectively enroll over 5 million students and provide critical college access to those who often come from traditionally underserved communities and are the first in their family to attend an institution of higher learning. And while 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.

That's a talent pool we want to reach. And we do so in various ways.

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 summer faculty fellowship research experiences at naval warfare centers and labs. Additionally, faculty can participate in one-semester to full-year-long sabbaticals under the ONR Summer Faculty Research Program and the ONR Sabbatical Leave Program, respectively.

We also partner with the DoD HBCU/MI Program and Outreach to offer the Distinguished Fellows Program. This provides professors from HBCU/MIs with faculty release time for three years - enabling them to focus exclusively on naval-relevant research, write academic papers and abstracts, engage with naval scientists and engineers, and mentor undergraduate and graduate students.

We believe that HBCU/MI faculty and students provide creative, outside-the-box thinking for tackling naval science and technology challenges. They present the DoN with diverse, unique approaches to ensuring our Sailors and Marines successfully keep America safe, both at home and abroad.

That's why it's so critical for you to attend this year's Naval OAW. We're bringing in program managers, program officers and other leaders from throughout the DoD. This is the perfect opportunity to make valuable networking connections and learn about available faculty fellowships, student internships and research awards. It could be your launching pad to great professional heights!

I truly hope to see all of you at the Naval OAW. But if you can't make it, learn more about the DoN HBCU/MI Program at https://www.onr.navy.mil/hbcu.

Category: Students, News Media, Faculty & Staff

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