SERC Recipient of NSF award for broadening participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

T​he Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton was awarded $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a two-year project to develop bold, new models to broaden participation in STEM.

​SERC is one of 37 projects being recognized for first-ever awards for the NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) program which aims to improve access to STEM education and career pathways at the national scale, making them more widely inclusive to underserved populations.

The geosciences lag behind most other STEM disciplines in diversity and are also projected to have a deficit in the workforce in the coming years. SERC's initiative, Engaging Local Communities in Geoscience Pathways, brings together partners who have led successful national efforts addressing components of these challenges with partners in three regions to create pathways in three regional pilots, focusing on key academic transitions in three diverse US communities—Atlanta, GA; San Bernardino, CA; and Oklahoma—and will use these pathways as laboratories and catalysts for a systemic change in geoscience and geoscience education.

Of the initial 37 recipients, Carleton College is the only private, 4-year liberal arts institution represented. For more information on the 37 projects visit the NSF Website.