PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (December 5, 2023) — Utilizing a research- and evidence-based approach, the Pathway Ready Opportunities for Growth, Research, and Excellence in STEM Skills (PROGRESS) Program at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) aims to increase the number of underrepresented and racially minoritized (URM) students pursuing STEM degrees at the University. The program, which will help address the U.S.’s critical need to develop strategies to enhance STEM degree attainment rates among URM groups, was just awarded a grant totaling $1.25 million by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the NSF’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Implementation Project (Only six submitted Implementation Projects are funded by NSF each year).
Harriette Howard-Lee Block, Ph.D.
The HBCU-UP Implementation Project was established to help develop and fortify STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs. As stated in the PROGRESS Program proposal, PVAMU’s program proposes that “acquisition of STEM capital, including 21st-century skills, through an interdisciplinary approach to STEM, will positively impact students’ persistence in STEM.” Therefore, “the rationale that underlies the project is that if PVAMU STEM students acquire STEM capital and 21st-century skills through research- and evidence-based interdisciplinary strategies, then the number of URM students pursuing STEM degrees will increase and the quality of their preparation at PVAMU will improve.”
The program’s PI is PVAMU Department Head and Associate Professor of Biology, Harriette Howard-Lee Block, Ph.D. The Co-PIs are Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Camille Burnett, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Xishuang Dong, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Biology, Victoria Mgbemena, Ph.D.; and Associate Professor of Biology, Deirdre Vaden, Ph.D. Other collaborators on the project include PVAMU Professor of Mathematics, Laurette Foster, Ed.D.; Associate Professor of Practice in Biology, Cleveland Lane, Jr., Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Biology, Charcacia Sanders, Ph.D.; and Professor of Educational Leadership and Counseling, Don Collins, Ph.D.
“Working collaboratively with an amazing team, across disciplines and sectors, and applying a STEM-equity lens to our purpose and rationale, we can dispel myths by creating an environment that precipitates a sense of belonging in STEM,” explained Dr. Howard-Lee Block. “The PROGRESS grant will have a significant impact on our students by responding to a need with a bold vision to graduate highly trained global leaders of society prepared for substantively advancing STEM innovations in society.”
By Leigh Badrigian