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Celebrating the Black Student JourneyWhile research continues (see next steps) to hone messaging and outreach, wemust not delay ongoing focus to welcome more students of color. The division ofMarketing Communications is producing videos in alignment with the charge.Current student video: Click hereFormer student video: Click hereKey Performance IndicatorsThroughout the fouryear initiative, we willcontinually measureprogress throughbenchmark andtracking research onperceptions amongstudents about A&M,coupled with actualnumbers year-to-yearin the pipeline,including commitmentand matriculation.Next StepsKey Performance IndicatorsOutreach and EngagementKPI and DescriptionActions to Achieve KPIFall 2021 Commitments ofAdmitted Students Exceed Fall 2020 (289 commits) Match Fall 2019 (328 commits) Current progress (not final): 324 Benchmark and TrackingAwareness and ReputationSurveys Among UnderrepresentedProspective Students Primary research to measure awareness and reputation Content creation, message testing One year on measurementPipeline and Fall 2022 Admits # of Applications Fall 2022 # of Admitted Students # Matriculating Students Exceed Fall 21 applications Exceed Fall 22 commits 5/1/2022 Stop ineffective channels per survey findings Continue effective channels per survey findings Enhance creative: Content, creative, outreachQuest for the Ring events through AprilIncreased outreach by team membersProvost/Admissions customized videos by person’s nameAggie Conversations engagementMarCom aligning videos (to hone by continued research)TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYFirst, the Quest for the Ring pilot proved successful and will continue. The team willfocus on outreach to boost fall matriculation and continue efforts for fall 2022.Second, primary research fielded this summer will help us understand more aboutpriorities for students who choose to attend A&M as well as “exit” surveys for thosewho do not and why. This can be annual informative input to help us be moreeffective throughout the four-year initiative and beyond.7

Third, a communications campaign with support from experts in outreach tounderrepresented groups will support A&M efforts on a campaign to reachprospective students.STATUS UPDATE: STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AND RECRUITMENTCo-Leads: Joe Pettibon ’93, Vice President for Enrollment and Academic Services Lisa Blazer, Associate Vice President for Enrollment ServicesMembership (in alphabetical order) Delisa Falks, Assistant VP, Scholarships & Financial Aid Peter Luong ‘21, President of Regents Scholars Organization, Student Rep Monica Menzel ’94, Hispanic Network, Former Student Rep & CDEI Rep Kasandra Phillips ’92, Associate Director of Recruitment Tim Scott ’89, ‘96, Associate Provost, Faculty Rep Patrick Williams ’92 Texas A&M FoundationThe Challenge and ChargeAs Texas A&MUniversity continues tofocus on increasingStudent Scholarships and RecruitmentCharge Review and UpdateunderrepresentedPresident’s Committee ChargeBoard-Approved Actions 2 & 3students on campus,Charge: Assist Texas A&M University to significantly Increasethe Regents’ Scholarsincrease the number of underrepresentedProgramprospective students applying and enrolling eachthis team was chargedyear through the enhancement of two targeted Increase National Recognitionscholarship programs: Increase Regents ScholarshipsScholarships.and Expand National Scholars through College BoardRecognition Program.with assisting theScholarshipOriginal OfferConfirmed to% Yield touniversity to increasedatedateRegents Scholarship2319100043.1%the number ofHispanic Natl Recognition54823943.6%African American Natl Recognition1003535.0%underrepresentedIndigenous Natl Recognition18527.8%prospective studentsRural/Small Town Natl Recognition28212745.0%Multiple Designation Natl Recognition893438.2%applying and enrollingTotal Natl Recognition103744042.4%each year through theenhancement of twoTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYtargeted scholarshipsprograms, removing potential financial barriers and recognizing academicachievements of our incoming class.8

Actions to Date – Committee on Scholarship and RecruitmentThe following actions were initiated to address this charge: Increased new freshmen Regents Scholars to 1000.Increased National Recognition Scholars by 150 new freshmen.Collaboration Across Committees – enhancing programming, connectionsand relationships across committees and the university communityCommunication and Outreach – developing new avenues for celebratingscholarsStudent Success – collaborating with partners to create programmingIncreased ScholarshipsThe committeereviewed historicalinformation, currentrecruitment efforts andscholarship awards forthe Regents Scholarsand the NationalScholars program. ForFall 2021, we haveawarded more than2300 students theRegents Scholarshipwith an expected yieldof 1000.Action & DeliverablesScholarships – Fall 2021 Regents Scholars - Offered 11.7 million - 6000 per year – expecting 1000 total new freshmen National Recognition Scholars – increasing by 150 new students – 3 new College Board CategoriesCollaboration Across Committees Coordinate activities with other CDEI committees Former Students – help with events and outreach Work with University Marketing & Communication to increase stories of scholars and of newrecipientsCommunication and Outreach Develop stories and celebrate current scholars Visits to homes and celebration ceremonies Social Media Boards and other communication Provide swag to students and parentsStudent Success* Programming to encourage retention* Develop extended orientation programmingTexas A&M hasTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYawarded the NationalHispanic Scholarship for several years. With the expansion of the College Board’snational recognition program to include three new groups of underrepresentedstudents (National African American, National Indigenous, National SmallTown/Rural), we have confirmed an additional 201 new scholars from these threenew categories for the 2021-22 academic year.9

Collaboration Across Committees and TaskforcesAs we continue to build out initiatives, we have an opportunity to coordinate acrosscommittees and task forces to strengthen our efforts in increasing the number ofunderrepresented prospects and applicants. This will include incorporatingscholarship awarding and communication efforts into the Strategic Enrollment Plan(currently in development), leveraging all of our existing financial aid programs,collaborating with CDEI committees and university taskforces to enhanceEnrollment Marketing and Communication, building connections for prospectivestudents to student organizations and campus-wide events (ex. Aggie Impact Gala),utilizing recruitment materials to highlight success of former students, expandingand coordinating peer recruiters, Aggie Recruitment Committee, Howdy Crew andother student organizations and mentors, and connecting parent and familyengagement activities.Communication and OutreachThe committee conversation focused on celebrating and sharing our story throughour scholarship recipients. As we look to differentiate ourselves through multiplecommunication channels and develop stories on our current scholars, we canutilize our current and former students for outreach beyond what the admissionsteam is able to provide. Ideas include visits to homes with swag and big checks,celebration ceremonies we publicize and highlight, working with our formerstudents to help underwrite and support so future students will see us as anopportunity, utilizing social media boards and creating bi-lingual messaging forparents. Further, we will work to ensure that every student receiving one of thesescholarships has an opportunity to visit campus and is directly contacted by ourrecruiters at their high school.Student SuccessIn addition to increasing underrepresented student prospects and applicants, thecommittee proposed programming to ensure students are retained once they areenrolled at Texas A&M. Initiatives include developing extended orientationprogramming for scholars, creating small summer programs as part of theirscholarship and incorporating programming into proposed strategic enrollmentinitiatives (in development).10

Key Performance Indicators – Scholarships & RecruitmentThroughout the fouryear initiative, we willmeasure ourprogress ofKey Performance IndicatorsScholarships & Recruitmentincreasing theKPI and DescriptionActions to Achieve KPnumber ofIncrease underrepresented Award additional Regents and National Recognitionstudent enrollmentScholarshipsunderrepresented Create stories of current scholars to share with prospectivestudentsprospective students Develop marketing, communication and outreach plan toencourage acceptance of scholarships and enrollmentand applicants Create celebration events (ceremonies, home visits, etc.) –highlight, share in news stories and in high schoolsthrough increasedIncrease the number of Regents Scholars – gradually increase income level toscholarship recipients 60,000 to award more students National Recognition – utilize purchased lists to initiallyscholarship awards,award and for generating interest in the scholarship andTAMU.enhanced marketing Create stories of current scholars to share with prospectivestudentsand communication,Increase retention rate of Evaluate and enhance Scholars programmingscholars Develop extended orientation programming for scholars –celebration eventsprovide information in offer letterand scholarsTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYprogramming.Success is ultimatelymeasured through increased numbers of Black/African American students whoenroll, are retained, succeed, and thrive at Texas A&M University and ultimatelyencourage others to do so as well due to their experience here.Next StepsBoth the Regents and the National Recognition Scholarships have been awarded forthe Fall 2021 semester. Over the summer months, the committee will work withAdmissions to ensure the students who have accepted the offer of admissions andthese scholarships actually enroll for the fall semester (avoiding what is calledsummer melt) through outreach and personalized communication.The committee with work with Enrollment Marketing and Communication todevelop unique current and former student scholar stories. These stories will beused in digital advertising, outreach to students and in celebration eventsthroughout the next academic year as we look to bring in the Fall 2022 class.Prior to the start of the next recruitment cycle, which begins in August 2021 forstudents that will enroll in Fall 2022, an action plan will be developed to create newcelebration events and increased media opportunities to highlight scholars. In11

addition, further research is being conducted on our admitted students to identifyadditional targeted efforts to recruit and enroll students receiving scholarshipfunding.STATUS UPDATE: PATHWAYS-TO-DOCTORATE FELLOWSHIPSCo-Leads: Karen Butler-Purry, Associate Provost and Dean, Graduate and ProfessionalSchool Mark Barteau, Vice President for Research, Professor, Chemical EngineeringMembership (in alphabetical order): Sandra Acosta, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, Faculty Rep Chante Anderson ‘20, PhD student, Communications, Student Rep Benika Dixon ’20, former student, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, TexasA&M Health Science Center Felipe Hinojosa, Associate Professor, History, Faculty Rep Michelle Meyer, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture and UrbanPlanning, Faculty Rep Karen Wooley, Distinguished Professor, Chemistry, Faculty RepThe Challenge and ChargeAs noted in the CDEI reportfindings, Hispanic and LatinxPathways-to-Doctorate Fellowshipsgraduate student enrollmentCharge Review and UpdateBoard-Approved Actions 4President’s Committee Chargeand Black and AfricanThe Pathways-to-Doctorate (PTD) committee is EstablishPathways-to-Doctoratecharged with helping boost application andFellowshipsenrollment of students from underrepresentedAmerican graduate studentpopulations in Texas A&M University graduate andprofessional programs, by: Expanding doctoral pathway partnerships withenrollment percentages areTexas A&M University System institutions andMinority Serving Institutions which arecomplementary to their existing graduateunderrepresented whenprograms. This will be accomplished by:Supporting collaboration grants and Pathwaysto Doctorate fellowshipscompared to the state’s Enhancing programmatic efforts of the TAMUPathways to Doctorate program which builddemographics. To addresscommunity and support timely graduationthis, more purposeful effortis needed to identify andbuild sustainable pathwaysto increase the enrollment ofstudents from underrepresented populations in TAMU graduate programs.TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYActions to Date – Committee on Pathways-to-Doctorate Fellowships12

The following actions were taken to address the charge: Analyzed the last 12 years of TAMU Pathways-to-Doctorate fellowship data.Collected best practices on successful pathway partnerships.Generated ideas for implementation of the Pathways-to-DoctorateFellowshipsIn Spring 2021, thePathways-to-Doctoratecommittee analyzed the lastAction & Deliverables12 years of TAMU PathwaysPathways-to-Doctorate Fellowships: April 2021 – May 2022: Develop PTD fellowship guidelines, first round competition, select up toto-Doctorate focusing on16 fellows for Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 start. October 2022 - May 2023: Second round competition, 8 fellows for Fall 2023 startdetails of funding packages, October 2023 - May 2024: Third round competition, select 8 fellows for Fall 2024 startbachelor’s institutionsExplore Additional “Collaboration Grants”:(pathways) of fellows, April - Sept. 2021: Develop grant guidelines, first round competition, 7 grant awards January – February 2022: Second round competition, 7 grant awardsstudent outcomes (attrition January – February 2023: Third round competition, 7 grant awards January – February 2024: Fourth round competition, 7 grant awardsand graduation rates), andprogrammatic activities.Further the committeecollected best practices andmodels of successful pathway partnerships from peer institutions. The TAMUPathways-to-Doctorate Fellowship data showed that graduation rates improvedwhen funding packages were shifted to multi-year commitments and recruitmentwas conducted by department or interdisciplinary (cross department) facultyteams, and that generally no ongoing pathways/pipelines existed and minimalprogrammatic efforts were in place to support retention and graduation. Furtherthe best practices show that sustainable pathways result from mutually beneficialeducational partnerships between faculty and staff across universities and thatsystemic changes in inequitable institutional practices are needed to improveretention.TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYAs a result, the committee conceived a four-year Pathways-to-Doctorate Fellowshippackage which includes a combination of one-year funding from the TAMUS fundsand three years of collaborative funding from academic units, the Graduate andProfessional School, and the Division of Research to support assistantship salaryand tuition and fees. Further the committee proposes the addition of collaborativegrants to incentivize and support innovative TAMU faculty and staff approaches forinitiating and expanding educational pathway partnerships.13

Key Performance Indicators – Pathways-to-Doctorate FellowshipsDuring the four years of theinitiative, we will annuallymeasure the progress todegree completion andidentify barriers to successof the Pathways-toDoctorate fellows.Key Performance IndicatorsPathways-to-Doctorate FellowshipsKPI and DescriptionActions to Achieve KPIAdd at least 20 new mutually beneficialgraduate pathways with partnerinstitutions. Seed new facultycollaborations across partnerinstitutions. PTD collaboration grants that focus on activities thatexpand the number and reach of pathways toinstitutions serving our target populations.Graduate each fellow within 5.5 yearsfrom initial to graduating semester Fund 32 PTD fellows through recruitment of studentsparticipating in programs funded by PTD collaborationgrants, national undergraduate programs which aim toincrease diversity of bachelor’s graduates (e.g. Dept of EdMcNair Scholars Program, NSF LSAMP Program, NIHInitiative for Minority Student Development, etc.), andbachelor’s degree recipients from TAMUS or MinorityServing institutions Provide programmatic efforts for PTD fellows which buildcommunity and support timely graduationIncrease the number of applicationsand enrollment of graduate studentsfrom underrepresented populationsfrom the partner institutions Collaboration grants and PTD fellowshipsTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYNext StepsFirst, materials and an application process will be developed in early Fall 2021 toallow promotion and selection of the Pathways-to-Doctorate fellowships during the2021-2022 recruiting cycle.Second, the first group of TAMU faculty and staff will be identified to initiate new orexpand upon existing pathway partnerships.Third, programmatic activities will be developed to transition the first group ofPathways-to-Doctorate fellows.14

STATUS UPDATE: FACULTY AND STAFF RECRUITMENT ANDRECOGNITIONCo-Leads: Blanca Lupiani, Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost Annie McGowan, Interim Vice President and Associate Vice Provost forDiversity, Gina and William Flores Endowed Professor in Business Jeff Risinger ’02, Vice President, Human Resources and OrganizationalDevelopmentMembership (in alphabetical order): Kristina Ballard, University Staff Council Scott Bauer ’85, ’87, Director of Talent Management Dale Rice, Faculty Senate, Speaker Elect Christine Stanley ’85, ‘90, Professor of Higher Education Cynthia Werner, Director of ADVANCEChallenge and ChargeBased upon the Boardapproved actions andthe President’s charge,Faculty and Staff Recruitment and RecognitionCharge Review and Updatethe Faculty and StaffBoard-Approved Actions 5 & 6President’s Committee Charge Developan actionable plan to strategically Growthe ACES program by tenRecruitment andincrease and diversify faculty – at all ranks –faculty per year for the next fourwho elevate the national and internationalyearsrecognition of the university.Recognition Team took Recognizemore outstanding Developa plan for the recruitment and supportAggies of color leading by exampleof frontline staff from underrepresentedgroups.a holistic approach to Developan actionable plan to foster a climateof respect and inclusivity for all faculty and staffand address campus climate and equity issuesthe faculty and staffproactively. Designa new award or leverage existing rewardstructures to recognize faculty and staff whoemployment lifecycle.contribute to improving campus climate, equity,and inclusion.Recruitment alone maybe perceived by someas the initial process ofbeginning work atTEXAS A&M UNIVERSITYTexas A&M. However,when applying the philosophy of being recruited for a career and not just a job, thefocus of this charge becomes more significant and is a longer-term commitment.One of the early challenges revealed

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students and the Aggie Network: The attached status report was submitted to Chancellor Sharp, and to The Texas . University co-leads and activities were mapped to approved actions: Small teams (8-10 members) were recruited to work adeptly, with input from our . Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Membership (in .