Took a bit to get rolling on this one (a.k.a external and internal grant award administrative processes/compliance and a slight start-up delay) but glad to finally be a part of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) project with the #GrandCanyonUniversity (Phoenix, AZ) in collaboration with PI Jeffrey La Belle and team.
Sometimes, all it takes are interest, follow-through, collaborative teamwork (a.k.a carefully going over ALL the reviewers’ comments received the first time and addressing them without getting frustrated. It can be hard, believe me), listening to and working closely with expert and very (com-)passionate grant advisors and dynamic duo (Drs. David Brown and John Krupczak).
Indeed, the second time’s the charm for GCU and I am very glad to have been a part of the planning to award-phase efforts from the beginning.
This 6-year S-STEM Track 1-Institutional Capacity Building project will establish the Multi-contextual Applications for eXcellence in Undergraduate STEM (MAXUS) program at GCU while funding scholarships to 12 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Engineering or Engineering Technology. The first-year students will receive 4-year scholarships.
Ultimately, MAXUS aims to increase student retention and persistence in engineering by linking scholarships with mentoring and community-building activities to support students from different cultural backgrounds. The goal is to create learning communities that meet the needs of all populations and help diverse populations to thrive in engineering. Faculty mentors will be trained in the application of mentoring approaches that will support students coming from different cultural backgrounds. Further, the scholars will have a dedicated collaborative space on campus in which scholars can mingle, socialize, study, and hold seminars. This space will be located close to classrooms and faculty so that students can find community and social supports, build relationships with peers and faculty, and receive more structured mentoring and training.
To read more about the award: https://lnkd.in/gmWqjSns
