S-stem: preparing academic talent for high-demand stem fields at a historically black community college

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Lawson State Community College $2 million on January 1, 2027, under the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program to support retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students pursuing STEM degrees.

The project will fund scholarships for up to 75 scholars pursuing associate degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, industrial electronics technology, manufacturing technology, and mathematics for up to five years. Scholars will receive multidimensional mentoring, peer networking opportunities, early undergraduate research experiences, and artificial intelligence micro-credentials. An independent evaluator will assess scholar progress across multiple dimensions to generate evidence on effective support strategies for talented, low-income STEM students.

The award runs through December 31, 2032, with performance based in Birmingham, Alabama. The S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields and improve the education of future STEM workers.

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at lawson state community college. A total of 75 scholars pursuing associate degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, industrial electronics technology, manufacturing technology, and mathematics will receive scholarships for up to five years. Scholars will receive multidimensional mentoring and the project will build strong scholar cohorts through peer networking and early undergraduate research. Additional activities for scholars include artificial intelligence (AI) micro-credentials. The overall goal of this track 1 project is to increase stem degree completion of academically talented, low-income undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. There is a significant national need to grow the stem workforce and nurture key talent that will ensure economic competitiveness and provide domestic leadership across critical sectors. This project directly speaks to this need by supporting stem student success, which will strengthen the workforce in engineering, science, and technology and other key areas of need. The project will be assessed by an experienced evaluator that will assess scholar growth along multiple dimensions, and the data generated will contribute to the knowledge base regarding effective strategies to support talented, low-income students in stem. This project is funded by NSF?s scholarships in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented, low-income students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in stem fields. IT also aims to improve the education of future stem workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.