STEM center receives $130,000 grant for expansion

Bhavna Sharma presents her Teaching as Research project at a CIRTL Forum

April 6, 2015

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields increasingly drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness, and more STEM-educated professionals are needed to fill in-demand, well-paying jobs in these fields. Yet fewer than 40 percent of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM field complete a STEM degree – if they graduate at all.

To help reduce attrition rates in STEM disciplines, particularly among historically underrepresented students, the Cornell University Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CU-CIRTL) is preparing future STEM faculty to be great researchers and teachers. CU-CIRTL is part of a network of 22 major research universities in which STEM graduate students learn teaching and mentoring techniques proven to help undergraduate students from all backgrounds stay with their STEM majors and complete their degrees.

As part of the CIRTL Network, Cornell University will receive $130,000 from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp., which has committed $3.2 million to CIRTL institutions through spring 2017. Combined with a grant CIRTL received from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Great Lakes grant provides resources to expand programming at each university and support cross-network sharing of best practices in future faculty development.

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