The Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the academic consortium of twelve research universities located in eight midwestern states, piloted the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) in 1986 to encourage minority students to consider graduate education and help them prepare for the graduate admissions process. In addition to SROP, CIC programs and activities include cooperative purchasing, shared study abroad, coordinated access to library resources, shared data networks, and coordinated access to specialized courses and research facilities. Now in its twentieth year, SROP has served more than ten thousand students, and the program continues to evolve and adapt to changes in the higher education landscape.