Native American and Other Minority Institutions

Introduction

The Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center (GP/RM HSRC) and Haskell Indian Nations University have initiated the Native American and Other Minority Institutions (NAOMI) Program. The administrative office for the NAOMI Program is located on Haskell's campus and is called the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center (HERS). The NAOMI Program serves Native American and other minority educational institutions throughout the United States. HERS will serve as a hazardous substance research, training, technology transfer center and information clearinghouse. By combining the rich technical and scientific resources of the GP/RM HSRC with the long and well-established role Haskell plays in serving the educational needs of American Indian and Alaska Native men and women from across the United States, the NAOMI Program is perfectly suited to enhance the dissemination and transfer of much-needed hazardous substance information, research, training and technology to Native American and other minority institutions.

Mission

The mission of the NAOMI Program is to involve minority educational institutions in long-term and short-term research relating to key hazardous substance problems and information dissemination through training programs and various forms of media.

The primary minority educational institutions to be served by the NAOMI Program are:

• all Native American educational institutions in the United States
• non-Native American minority educational institutions in EPA Regions VII and VIII

Components

This mission will be accomplished through the following program components:

• immediate involvement in GP/RM HSRC activities
• seminar program
• call for proposals
• summer research and technology transfer cooperation opportunities
• repository

Seminars

The NAOMI Seminar Program provides public education on hazardous substances and related environmental issues. Its purpose is to facilitate communication among faculty and students and foster cooperation in hazardous substance research, training and technology transfer. The seminars are delivered primarily through a mediated distance program. The seminars are presented in a variety of formats:

• distribution of videotaped seminars
• uplinking of live lectures
• uplinking of edited tapes
• uplinking of purchased video tapes
• traditional seminar presentations at various campuses

The NAOMI Seminar Program is offered to all minority colleges and universities nationally and to all colleges and universities in Kansas.

Proposals

The NAOMI Program provides funding for research, training and technology transfer projects on hazardous substances at minority educational institutions. Submitted proposals are reviewed by the HERS Advisory Board as well as the GP/RM HSRC's Science Advisory Committee and Training and Technology Transfer Advisory Committee. These advisory bodies provide recommendations on funding to the GP/RM HSRC and HERS Directors. Joint proposals between minority colleges and the GP/RM HSRC consortium of universities are strongly encouraged.

Summer Programs

The NAOMI Program provides support for NAOMI faculty and students to participate in research and training and technology transfer projects at GP/RM HSRC consortium institutions during the summer. Selection for participation has been based on the applicant's expertise, interests and geographical location. The GP/RM HSRC and HERS facilitate the matching of NAOMI faculty with GP/RM HSRC principal investigators.

The NAOMI Program also provides financial assistance to NAOMI faculty and students to attend conferences and workshops. The GP/RM HSRC holds an annual Conference on Hazardous Waste Research, as well as associated workshops, to which the NAOMI Program provides travel funding for NAOMI faculty and students.

Repository

Videos and other materials produced through the NAOMI Program are added to the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain HSRC information repository at Kansas State University. Materials in the repository are available to NAOMI Program participants through interlibrary loan from Kansas State University's Farrell Library.

More information

For more information on the NAOMI Program, contact George Godfrey or Wendy Griswold at: