Los Medanos College awarded $625,611 grant to support STEM scholars program
PITTSBURG: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Los Medanos College (LMC) a 5-year, NSF S-STEM grant of $625,611 to support the college’s efforts to establish an LMC STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Achievement) Scholars Program. This program will provide scholarships and support services for academically talented and low-income STEM students.
The LMC STEM Scholars Program will establish up to 116 scholarships, each between $3,000 and $5,000 annually, to approximately 50-65 individual full-time, academically talented and financially disadvantaged STEM students during years Two through Five of the grant. Year One of the grant will be dedicated to program start-up, such as development of resources, supplies, policies and procedures, and recruitment activities. In Years Two through Five, approximately 25 scholarships will be given awarded to students attending LMC. Additionally, in each of Years Three through Five, five scholarships will be awarded to STEM Scholars who transfer to four-year universities as STEM majors. The program will increase the numbers of traditionally underserved, low-income STEM students who obtain STEM degrees, transfer to four-year universities as STEM majors, and ultimately launch into successful STEM careers.
An LMC STEM student is defined as a student who is pursuing an Associate of Science degree or Bachelor of Science transfer path, majoring in one or more of the following calculus-based STEM programs: Biological Sciences, Computer Sciences, Engineering, Mathematical Sciences or Physical Sciences. While LMC’s existing MESA Program will provide the infrastructure for the STEM Scholars Program, awardees will retain a distinct identity as a community of learners, an identity fostered via the unique opportunities available to the STEM Scholars cohort.
The grant will help support some of LMC’s program objectives focusing on STEM major success, completion and transfer rates. These include:
- Increase the proportion of Latino & African American STEM majors who meet their degree and transfer goals to more closely match the equivalent success rates of those ethnic populations across disciplines at LMC.
- At least 75% of STEM Scholars will complete an Associate degree and/or transfer to a four-year university in a STEM field within three years.
- Provide robust programmatic infrastructure to ensure increasing success rates within the STEM Scholars Cohort.
- Expand and enrich learning and career placement opportunities by requiring STEM Scholars to participate in relationship-building activities with industry partners (career exploration, job shadowing, mentorships, internships, and research activities).
“Los Medanos College is gratified by NSF’s award to support the launch of our STEM Scholars Program”, explained LMC President Bob Kratochvil. “Each scholarship is intended to provide sufficient funds for students to attend school full-time without having to also work, enabling them to direct their talents and energy toward their educational goals. We believe this grant will play a key role in meeting our program objectives related to completion and achievement rates for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math majors – all leading to student success and career opportunities for our STEM scholars.”
For more information about the STEM Scholars Program, visit www.losmedanos.edu/stem or contact Carol Hernandez at 925-439-2181 extension 3437.
Los Medanos College (LMC) is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. LMC prepares students to excel and succeed economically, socially and intellectually in an innovative, engaging and supportive learning environment. It provides quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities to serve the needs of a rapidly growing and changing East County while enhancing the quality of life of the diverse communities it serves. LMC is located on 120 acres between Pittsburg and Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.
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