Sherri Frizell, Fred A. Bonner II, Aretha Marbley and the MACH-III Center Research Team

(Grant Award: $349,971)

For more than three decades, both educational and scientific communities have channeled efforts and resources aimed at increasing the number of African-American students completing STEM degrees and subsequently pursuing STEM careers both in the United States and internationally. As minority populations continue to increase, their participation in the STEM workforce will be critical to the health of the global economy. A significant facet of increasing minority student participation in the STEM workforce is to understand the role faculty should play in preparing these students and assisting with their matriculation to graduation and ultimately their participation in the workforce. Hence, a key emergent question then becomes: What factors are critical for faculty who prepare HBCU STEM majors for graduate and professional school as well as careers in the STEM workforce?

The overarching goal of this research is to create viable solutions to the conundrum of low representation of African Americans in the STEM workforce and to provide formal guidance to all interested stakeholders. Results will provide tangible data and recommendations to assist higher education institutions in their efforts to develop strategies that they, along with internal and external policymakers, can follow to achieve and maintain significant increases in the number of African-American students with STEM degrees.

Fred A. Bonner II and the MACH-III Center Research Team

(Grant Award: $20,000)

The objective of this Mini-Grant Program project is to identify factors, through a mixed methods approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative measures, that most significantly contribute to the success of African American and Hispanic millennial (current generation of college students born after 1982) students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).  By studying African American and Hispanic millennial students who are gifted and are low-income (or poor) enrolled in STEM disciplines at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), this project will identify critical academic and social factors found to contribute to the successful Admission, Matriculation and Transition of this cohort. Ultimately, this project is leads to a better understanding of how to structure successful collegiate experiences at institutions to increase the quantity and quality of African American and Hispanic millennial students who graduate with STEM degrees (Bonner, 2014; Flowers, 2014; Palmer, Davis, Thompson, 2010).

Sherri Frizell, Audie Thompson, Fred A. Bonner II and the MACH-III Center Research Team

(Grant Award: $999,999)

The goal of the project is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students who graduate with undergraduate degrees in STEM fields and to increase the preparedness of these students for diverse STEM career paths and graduate education. A multi-pronged strategy consisting of cohort building, academic support, professional development, and mentoring will be used to increase student retention and graduation rates. Tangible data will be generated from the project that supports recruitment, retention, and workforce diversification efforts for this student demographic. A research study examining student motivation and STEM identity development with a particular focus on the internship experience is an integral component of the project. The research plan consists of two qualitative studies and focuses on the lived experiences of program participants utilizing an interpretive narrative research design. Study results will provide an overview of the factors impacting the STEM pipeline experience.  Additionally, results will provide insights into interventions that are successful in helping minority students navigate the path to engineering careers and sustain in those careers.