The $500,000, four-year grant will allow administrators to recruit and award scholarships to 32 students in each year of the grant. The NSF Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Scholarship program also allows administrators the funding to academically support those students. The grant was awarded to Jann Joseph, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Paul Plotkowski, dean of the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing.
Joseph said the grant begins immediately with recruiting students who could qualify for the need-based scholarships. "This will help juniors and seniors push their way to graduation and allow them to focus on their remaining courses," she said. "By increasing the graduation rates for these students, were also helping to meet the needs of women and minorities."
Work on the grant begins immediately, Joseph said, as student recruitment and selection of an advisory committee are underway. She said interviews should be conducted in January and scholarship awards made in April.
Plotkowski said the timing of the grant will help Grand Valley meet the needs of industry. "Nationally, engineering enrollments have not been keeping up with the needs of industry for a number of years," he said. "Far too often, students who begin engineering programs step out of college for financial reasons. This program is intended to help students avoid or minimize the need to earn money to pay for college during the most demanding years of an engineering program."
Scholarship recipients will be placed in a cohort that allows for peer tutoring and faculty support, Plotkowski said.
The grant is the second Grand Valley received from NSF within weeks. In mid-September, the university received funding to help women faculty in the sciences and engineering advance their careers.
While giving $450,000 in scholarships to students is exciting, Joseph said she's equally thrilled about the university's commitment to science education.
In August, Joseph and Ellen Schiller, assistant professor of education, received a $185,000 Michigan Department of Education grant for elementary and middle school science teacher professional development. That grant serves Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Muskegon Heights schools.
"Grand Valley, through its outreach and grant efforts, is able to demonstrate a strong commitment to K-16 education," she said.
