Federal grant gives college nearly $500k to increase 'racial/ethnic and gender diversity in STEM'

Alverno College in Wisconsin received a $499,983 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase “racial/ethnic and gender diversity in STEM.”

According to the NSF grant abstract, the money will be used to “directly engage” 400 students at the college who are currently enrolled in STEM courses and focus on connecting women and minority students to their “professional and social communities.”

The NSF, states that their HSI program helps the organization reach its goal of, “a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce.”

[RELATED: NSF awards Bucknell almost $300k to ‘uncover systemic inequities’]

The funds will go towards the university’s Truchan STEM Community Impact Program, which as one goal of “Supporting faculty development on culturally responsive pedagogy,” according to a press release by the university. 

”The project will leverage the importance of family support to students of color and women in college success, choice of major and career. A professional mentorship network between current STEM students and alumni will capitalize on evidence that professional Latinx/ Hispanic role models influence STEM success. Ongoing faculty development in culturally responsive teaching and a formalized administrative support structure will expand project impact across the college,” the abstract states.

[RELATED: As Boghossian leaves PSU, school gets $1 mil for ‘antiracist’ computer science education]

Alverno plans on using the Truchan program alongside their already-existing grant programs that attempt to target disparities among women and people of color: The National Science Foundation S-STEM grant and the USDA Hispanic Serving Institution Education grant.

The NSF has awarded more and more funding to social justice-geared projects in recent years. 

For example, the government organization gave almost $300,000 to Bucknell University in order to “uncover systemic inequities” in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

In 2020, the group gave one professor $350,000 in order to research over 2,600 landmarks across the country and study “the degree to which white supremacy and racial injustice is acknowledged.”

Campus Reform reached out to Alverno College but did not receive a response.