Alabama State University has received funding for an NSF pilot program aimed at increasing participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs.
Alabama State University is one of only four universities in the Southeast, and one of 37 colleges, universities and educational groups nationwide to receive awards for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) first-ever program INCLUDES, a comprehensive initiative to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering by broadening participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
This 18-month pilot project titled South East Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in STEM (SEAPD-STEM) was awarded $299,970. SEAPD-STEM comprises 21 universities. The pilot project was selected for its potential to deliver a prototype for a bold, new model that broadens participation in STEM.
Near the end of the two-year pilot project, ASU and the other organizations now in the national INCLUDES Alliance will be eligible to be one of the five initiatives selected for up to $12.5 million each in funding.
NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) aims to improve access to STEM education and career pathways at the national scale, making them more widely inclusive to underserved populations. Over the next decade, NSF will expand the program, with the goal of developing a science and engineering workforce that better reflects the diversity of U.S. society.
Dr. Carl Pettis, associate dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is the principal investigator of ASU’s portion of the SEAPD-STEM project. ASU’s co-PIs are Dr. Michelle Foster, associate professor of Math/Computer Science, and Dr. Cleon Barnett, associate professor in the Physical Science Department. Auburn University, Tuskegee University and Vanderbilt University will partner with ASU on this project.
Pettis said the SEAPD-STEM project builds on the existing Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM (AASD-STEM), an NSF-funded model, and includes a plan to form a larger regional alliance focused on recruiting, better educating, retaining and graduating secondary and postsecondary students with disabilities (SWDs) across the academic pathway from high school through postdoctoral training and entry into faculty positions.
“We are elated that this project was funded and we look forward to continuing to make an impact in the lives of students with disabilities in STEM,” Pettis said.
NSF INCLUDES will invest in alliances and partnerships that scale up efforts to broaden STEM participation among underrepresented groups, including women, Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans, persons with disabilities, people from rural areas and people of low socioeconomic status. Multi-year NSF INCLUDES Alliances will engage partners from private and corporate philanthropy, federal agencies and scientific professional societies.
Building on these initial awards, the program will provide networked testbeds for STEM inclusion, connecting participants and enabling them to determine the key components and approaches that lead to sustainable progress at a national scale.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Monday, October 10th 2016 at 3:14PM
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