Past Forums

2007 Ohio Student Research Forum
August 9 -10, Wright State University

ACTIVITY LEADER - NETWORKING SESSION
Cyndi Freeman, Director, Ohio Science and Engineering Alliance

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that it has hired Cyndi Freeman to service as Director for Graduate Student Recruitment and Diversity Initiatives. In that capacity, Freeman will work with Ohio State’s 92 doctoral and 115 master’s programs to develop recruitment plans to attract top graduate students to Ohio State. She will also serve as director of the Ohio Science and Engineering Alliance, an NSF-funded project among 15 Ohio universities working in collaboration with federal, state, and community agencies to increase the number of underrepresented minority students who earn bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and to encourage more of our degree recipients to pursue graduate study.

Freeman will join the Ohio State graduate community on April 1. She is currently executive assistant to the dean for diversity enhancement programs in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State.  She has served in that role since 1999.

“We are delighted to have someone with Cyndi’s experience helping Ohio State develop more aggressive and thoughtful recruiting and retention strategies for graduate students,” said Patrick S. Osmer, vice provost of graduate studies and dean of the Graduate School.

“Cyndi emerged early as a top candidate for the job,” Osmer said. “We are impressed with what she’s done at Penn State, especially in attracting students from underrepresented groups to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. It’s clear that she knows that recruiting is both art and science. I know that her extensive experience and networking across the country will be invaluable as Ohio State turns its attention to enhancing the quality of its graduate programs, in part through recruiting more diverse graduate student talent.”   

Freeman’s track record at Penn State is impressive, said Osmer. She shepherded a 200 percent increase in the number of historically underrepresented students entering graduate programs in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Freeman achieved this outcome through collaborations with national professional organizations, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“I’m eager to join the Ohio State graduate community,” said Freeman, “and I look forward to sharing what I know and learning about the unique opportunities and challenges at Ohio State. My goal is to be part of Ohio State’s institutional transformation as it works to improve graduate program quality and I firmly believe that cultivating a diverse and talented graduate student body is key to enhancing Ohio State’s already rich graduate programs and research and scholarship.”

Critical components in Freeman’s success are developing productive relationships with institutions, deans, faculty, and directors of research centers.  At Ohio State, Freeman will continue working with the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) and other programs designed to increase the numbers of underrepresented students who go on to enroll in graduate students. At Penn State, Freeman made strategic use of SROP and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) opportunities to link talented students with the best the university had to offer, all with an eye to attracting them to Penn State. Osmer notes that one third of the undergraduate summer research participants that Freeman worked with were accepted and enrolled into graduate programs. 

Highlights of Freeman’s tenure at Penn State include serving on a review team for the University’s Framework to Foster Diversity, Executive Leadership Team for the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Instructor in African-African American Studies, and advisor to the Native American Indian Association.  Cyndi has served as a board member for the GEM Consortium (the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science) and has been actively engaged in increasing access and equality in higher education.

Ms. Freeman holds a B.A. in Public Relations from Kent State University and an M.A. in American Studies from Penn State.

For more information, please contact Ms. Susan Reeser, assistant to the dean of the Graduate School, 292-6031.