$600,000 NSF Grant Will Provide Scholarships, Mentoring, and Support for STEM Students at Wooster

Initiative will focus on women, minority, and first-generation students

WOOSTER, Ohio, Aug. 24, 2011 – The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $600,000 grant to The College of Wooster for a new program to provide scholarships, mentoring, and academic support to students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The program will focus on students with financial need who have expressed interest in majoring in math, computer science, chemistry, or physics, with particular emphasis on women, minorities, and first-generation college students. Dr. Pamela Pierce, chair of the department of mathematics and computer science, will oversee the new initiative.

The grant is one of 80 funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program, out of 363 proposals received.

Up to 12 Wooster students — a mix of first-years and sophomores — will be recruited for the program in each of its first three years. The college’s goal is to increase by 30 the number of women and minorities who graduate with a degree in the physical sciences, mathematics, and computer science over a four-year period.

Each student will receive a scholarship averaging $6,000: enough to reduce the loan portion of their need-based financial aid by more than two thirds. All will participate in a study group facilitated by an upper class student, shadow a senior major in their intended field of study, and work one-on-one with a STEM faculty mentor who will advise them on course selection, internship and research opportunities, graduate school options, and career paths.

“In awarding this generous grant, the National Science Foundation recognized Wooster’s track record of producing successful graduates in the sciences, as well as our strength in one-on-one, faculty-student mentoring,” said Carolyn Newton, the college’s provost. “This new funding addresses two key concerns of students and their families: academic success and affordability. Students in the program will receive intensive academic support and career counseling, and the scholarship will allow them to graduate essentially debt-free.”

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for excellence in teaching and a curriculum built around mentored undergraduate research. Every Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty adviser to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 2,000 students.