Letter of Agreement - NINE program
NINE Applicants
A Letter of Agreement, from your home institution, is necessary before acceptance into the program. While it will not be required unless you are one of the finalists, we strongly recommend that you include this letter -signed by an authorized institutional representative - in your application packet. Selection to the program is dependent upon your ability to form and sustain a hub at your home institution, so proof of this ability, early in the process, is a plus.
Example Letter of Agreement
IMPORTANT: Letter must be on official institutional letterhead
[Date]
Lyndele von Schill
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
520 Edgemont Rd
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Dear Ms. von Schill,
This letter summarizes the agreement by [your institution] to serve as a NINE Hub, as part of NRAO’s National and International Non-traditional Exchange (NINE) Program.
We understand that our representative, _______________, may be selected as a NINE trainee and, upon return from a two-month training session at NRAO, will be responsible for developing a NINE Hub at [your institution] with the tools and processes provided by the NINE Program.
The [your institution] Hub will be responsible for providing opportunities and training for the [your region] local community using the NINE methods, and to associate with NRAO NINE to provide opportunities for the:
- exchange of students and postdocs between [your institution] and NRAO,
- exchange of faculty/instructors and other professionals in line with NRAO’s mission of broadening participation for under-represented populations,
- collaborating on workshops, professional development and networking, to build the radio astronomy community,
- continuous distance learning (materials provided by NRAO) associated with Radio Astronomy,
- fostering of long-term mentoring relationship with NINE program participants.
[Your institution] supports the participant in this endeavor by providing a minor amount of support to the participant. Specifically, [your institution] agrees to provide:
- a location for the NINE Hub Program (office space and meeting room or location-NOTE this may be existing space already occupied by the NINE Hub Director),
- computing resources and support for collaboration, mentoring, and continuous distance learning for NINE participants,
- access to information on housing within walking distance or on campus if feasible for future NINE HUB participants,
- access to a knowledgeable person to assist with visa/travel/housing/transportation /local information, associated with regional future NINE participants and international visitors.
This agreement enters into force on this date, and will continue indefinitely unless terminated by either [your institution] or the NRAO. Contact information for both institutions can be found in Attachment I: Points of Contact.
[Authorized Signature]
[Full Name, Title]
[Institution]
Attachment 1: Points of Contact
AUI/NRAO:
Primary Point of Contact:
Name: Lyndele von Schill
Title: Director of Diversity & Inclusion
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Address: 520 Edgemont Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone number: 434-296-244-6896
Email address: lvonschi@nrao.edu
NINE Hub
Primary Point of Contact:
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Email address:
