乐播传媒 College has won a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to transform its STEM culture to fully support all students in the sciences throughout their undergraduate years.
With the grant, 乐播传媒 joins 33 colleges and universities selected in 2018 to join the , which aims to catalyze national efforts to broaden participation of students from all backgrounds in the study of science.
At 乐播传媒, the HHMI grant will fund strategies aimed at:
- Transforming the ways that faculty approach their work with students;
- Expanding existing programs for student mentoring and leadership;
- Redefining the first-year science curriculum to introduce research experiences.
鈥淎 commitment to access and equity runs deep in our history and mission,鈥� said President Clayton Spencer. 鈥淎 乐播传媒 offer of admission has always stood as a vote of confidence in a student鈥檚 talent and potential to make important contributions to our world. This grant will deepen our capacity and speed our progress toward making good on this promise for all students interested in science.鈥�
HHMI is the largest private supporter of academic biomedical research in the U.S., and its funding initiatives and grant choices are considered definitive statements of an institution鈥檚 potential for transformative impact.
鈥淲hat HHMI understands, and what 乐播传媒 embraces, is that science can only be excellent when its culture supports all students for success.鈥�
In accepting the grant, 乐播传媒 becomes part of a national network of colleges and universities committed to making STEM education more inclusive and equitable 鈥� especially for students who arrive via nontraditional pathways, including underrepresented ethnic minorities, first-generation students, and working adults with families.
The 33 colleges and universities selected by HHMI in 2018聽for the聽Inclusive Excellence initiative join 24 schools selected in 2017.
鈥淲hat HHMI understands, and what 乐播传媒 embraces, is that science can only be excellent when its culture supports all students for success,鈥� said Professor of Psychology Kathryn Graff Low, who oversaw the grant process as interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty during the 2017鈥�18 academic year.
STEM culture change
The HHMI grant gives the college鈥檚 STEM faculty what it seeks: funding to expand its capacity to effect culture change, said Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Paula Schlax, the principal investigator of the grant.
鈥淢y colleagues are interested in and motivated to create an inclusive culture and to support students in ways that traditional science curricula do not,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are confident that our strategies, particularly our efforts to design experiences that create a sense of science identity and belonging, will ultimately lead to improved student success in STEM fields.鈥�
The HHMI grant is the third major acknowledgment in as many years of 乐播传媒鈥� leadership in the national effort to achieve greater inclusivity and equity in higher education. The grant also supports the major 乐播传媒 Campaign goal to transform the teaching and learning of science at 乐播传媒, including the creation of an integrated system of science facilities.
Expanded Science Fellows program
In addition to supporting new teaching and learning strategies, the HHMI grant will allow 乐播传媒 to expand and strengthen its Science Fellows program, currently a first-year-only mentoring program for 12 STEM-interested students, especially first-generation and URM students and students from under-resourced high schools.
The program will double in size, to 24 fellows each year, and fellows will remain active all four years, with expanded opportunities for STEM leadership and learning. Ultimately, this 60-student cohort of experienced STEM leaders and mentors will 鈥渉elp all our STEM students strengthen their sense of belonging and confidence to succeed,鈥� Schlax said.
Research in a student’s first year
The grant will also fund innovative opportunities for students to do scientific research as soon as they get to 乐播传媒. Known as First-Year Research Seminars, the new offerings will provide 鈥渞esearch opportunities in the intimate setting of a seminar that maximize opportunities for developing relationships with faculty and fellow students,鈥� Schlax said.
“They will begin to see themselves as scientists.鈥�
Student research is 鈥渙ne of the most important aspects of our curricula,鈥� Schlax said. 鈥淚t measurably benefits any student.鈥� Yet in higher education, 鈥渋t is unusual for a first-year student to participate in 鈥榓uthentic鈥� research,鈥� in which a student investigates a compelling research question alongside a professor.
The new seminars will help 鈥渂uild students鈥� scientific knowledge and toolkits plus their science efficacy, identity, and belonging. They will begin to see themselves as scientists.鈥�
