| Abstract | Minorities are significantly under-represented as advanced degree holders in the biosciences and mathematics. A formal cross-departmental alliance at our University has connected a learning and research community among biology and mathematics students and faculty. BLEND was specifically formed to enable both faculty and undergraduates greater access to biomathematics learning and teaching. This new synergistic alliance of biology and mathematics faculty members became known as the Biomathematics Learning Enhancement Network for Diversity (BLEND). The BLEND alliance has significantly expanded and connected our small existing efforts across campus to promote collaborative biomathematics research and training. BLEND also has served as a forum for students and faculty to express their creativity, and ultimately succeed in careers at the intersection of math and biology. We believe BLEND will help lead to future re-shaping of our math and biology undergraduate training infrastructure at North Carolina A&T State University (NCATSU), a historically minority campus. This paper describes a comprehensive process of how early-adopting BLEND faculty at our campus bound together and built a critical mass of collaborations and partnerships. As a consequence of BLEND activity from 2005-2009, there is a significant increase in faculty pursuing research and shared discovery at the interface of math and biology. Particularly noteworthy, more underrepresented students, as undergraduates, are actively conducting research related to biomathematics. Because BLEND harnessed more meaningful integration among the Mathematics and Biology Departments, biomathematics research is highly promoted at NCATSU. As an immediate outcome, an increasing number of undergraduates are actively engaged in biomathematics, and many more students from our campus are motivated to continue graduate research in this area. |
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