Interdisciplinary Team Awarded $1.4 Million NSF Grant for SUMSS Program

Congratulations to Professors Mark Jordan (Biology), McLean Sloughter (Mathematics) and Jennifer Sorensen (Chemistry), as well as College of Science and Engineering Assistant Dean Jennifer Coogan, who have been awarded $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the SU Math and Science Scholars (SUMSS) program. Funding comes from NSF’s Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the goals of which are to enhance recruitment, retention, graduation and career readiness for academically talented low-income students with unmet financial need.

Over six years, the team’s SUMSS program will provide 24 scholarships to three cohorts of eight low-income, full-time SU undergraduates who are pursuing degrees in biology, chemistry or math. In addition to direct scholarship support, students will also engage in formal activities to bolster their success, including faculty and peer mentoring, and targeted academic and career planning support. All SUMSS students will also participate in a research course in data science in which they will gain fundamental skills that are highly in demand across the STEM workforce. In addition to supporting low-income SU students in developing as well-qualified candidates for positions in STEM fields and/or graduate school, the SUMSS program will also generate important benefits to all students in the College of Science and Engineering by increasing capacity for connecting STEM majors to campus support resources and introducing innovative new programs to enhance student success.