The National Science Foundation awarded ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ University $646,986 as part of the NSF’s national , which offers scholarships for underrepresented students with financial need to pursue bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, pre-engineering, mathematics or physics.
The grant will also provide academic and cocurricular support for participating scholars, including intensive faculty and near-peer mentoring, a STEM-themed residential community, on-campus student leadership positions, student research and internship opportunities and STEM graduate education and career planning activities.
The program was designed to increase the effectiveness of ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in STEM fields, to strengthen students’ performance, to provide meaningful opportunities for students to gain relevant paid academic and professional experience, to develop a personalized post-graduation plan for each student and to evaluate the best alternatives to implement permanently at ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ.
This initiative will be led by ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ professors Alison Fisher and Sarah Kirk, who will receive broad support from a multidisciplinary team of faculty members, including David Craig, Brandi Row Lazzarini, Erin McNicholas, Gretchen Moon and Rachel Dewey Thorsett.