The InterCon network: A program for education partnerships at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center

The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center (UT-Houston) has crea ted programs and activities to address the state's pressing needs in minori ty education. Through InterCon, a network of universities and K-12 schools, UT-Houston works with its partners to identify competitive candidates in t he current pool of minority graduates with bachelor's degrees and to help t hem-along with their non-minority counterparts-progress in their education. Another objective is to expand the pool of minorities underrepresented in medicine who complete high school and go to college. In 1994 UT-Houston and Prairie View A&M University created a collaborative venture to provide new educational opportunities at UT-Houston fur Prairie View's predominantly African American students. A three-track summer intern ship program-a result of that collaboration-has since been expanded to part nerships with other minority and majority universities throughout Texas. In 1998, for example, 108 undergraduate students from these universities (and 40 other universities nationwide) participated in research, professional, and administrative summer internships at UT-Houston. The InterCon network also has partnerships with K-12 schools. UT-Houston wo rks with inner-city, suburban, and rural school districts to develop educat ion models that can be transferred throughout the stare. The partnerships d eal with helping to teach basic academic skills and computer literacy, impr ove science-related instruction, meet demands for health promotion material s and information far school-initiated health and wellness programs, and de velop distance-learning paradigms. UT-Houston views InterCon as a program helping Texas institutions to engage and adapt to the socioeconomic factors, demographic changes, and technolog y explosion that currently challenge public education.