Radford University is proposing an interdisciplinary S-STEM effort between the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geology, Information Technology and Mathematics in the College of Science and Technology (CSAT). The program builds upon lessons learned in a prior CSEMS award. The project is planning to use a variety of innovative strategies to support students. For example an online management system is combined with advising Action Plans to allow for careful student monitoring. Scholarship recipients are also to be provided with leadership knowledge and experiences and graduate with a leadership certificate. Recipients are to complete a career development seminar and be supported to obtain internships. The project is to award 20 new scholarships annually for a total of 80 students over four years.
The Bridges and Pipelines Scholarship Program, funded by the National Science Foundation, was one of the most important and successful programs ever offered in the College of Science and Technology (CSAT) at Radford University (RU). The NSF grant made possible transformative opportunities for scholarship recipients and also lifted the CSAT’s profile by engaging majors from across the college in academic enrichment and extracurricular opportunities. These opportunities were presented at the 2011 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and include: 1) participating in an interdisciplinary STEM community, 2) gaining valuable leadership knowledge and skills, and 3) receiving expanded one-on-one advising support to supplement traditional academic advising in their major. Recruitment for the Bridges and Pipelines Program involved many on- and off-campus partners. We collaborated closely with RU’s Admissions and Financial Aid Offices to identify and contact prospective STEM scholarship candidates. Recruitment efforts included a CSAT Open House, phone calls and emails to prospective scholarship candidates, scholarship information sessions at New Student Orientation sessions, and outreach to local programs and organizations. Partnering programs and organizations helped us advertise the program to a diverse group of students, including underrepresented populations. Partners included Project Discovery, Appalachian Arts and Studies in the Schools (AASIS), and the RU Summer Bridge Program among other groups. In the five years of the program, 71 STEM majors in four cohorts received a total of $545,132 in scholarships, averaging $7,678 per recipient. The interdisciplinary STEM community at Radford University included three key components designed to engage our students and promote their retention. First, as incoming freshmen, scholarship recipients participated in a residential learning community on the same floor of a residence hall. Additionally, scholarship recipients completed a course together in their freshman year, Introduction to Higher Education (UNIV 100), taught by project team member. This helped students become accustomed to RU and to get to know one another better as peers and scholars. The new College of Science and Technology STEM Club established through and supported by this NSF grant held its meetings in the residence hall for the learning community and provided informal learning opportunities, extracurricular enrichment and a wide range of academic, service and social opportunities for both our scholarship recipients and other STEM majors. Nearly all of these opportunities were planned and administered by NSF scholarship recipients, who have served in leadership roles as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Webmaster. For example, grant funds supported scholarship recipients and club members to explore the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum and Air and Space Museum on three occasions and also visit the North Carolina Zoo, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and Science Museum of Western Virginia. STEM majors also toured on several occasions the RU Greenhouse, Museum of the Earth Sciences, and Planetarium. Additionally, the CSAT STEM Club organized a series of nationally recognized guest speakers, including STEM professionals from NASA, Harvard, UVA, Harvey Mudd, and Ohio Valley Archaeology. They spent thousands of volunteer hours assisting with STEM events such as the CSAT’s Blue Ridge Science Fair, Science Exploration Day, and Super MACC academic competition. They served the broader community through canned food drives and river clean-ups, and they organized two picnics annually for RU’s STEM majors as well as many other social events including bowling, pool, and hiking. Scholarship recipients also benefitted significantly from participation in leadership development opportunities. Specifically, scholarship recipients completed a three-credit student leadership development course, Emerging Leaders (LEAD 110) as an introduction to the RU Student Leadership Program. Many scholarship recipients ultimately pursued leadership opportunities, including officer roles in clubs in their academic majors, as well as in the CSAT STEM Club. Scholarship recipients received additional advantages to supplement those traditionally available in the College. For example, in addition to traditional academic advising, each scholarship recipient received one-on-one advising from an academic advisor on the grant team while at RU. The faculty advisor reviewed midterm grade reports and met with students having academic or other documented difficulties to co-establish with the student an action plan for improvement. The advisor mentored at-risk students to provide any needed advisory support. Scholarship recipients have often expressed the advantages of participating in the Bridges and Pipelines Program, such as: 1) "I would not be able to go to Radford without this scholarship ... I believe that without this scholarship a college education would not be possible." 2) "I was not as engaged in high school as I am now….[The Bridges and Pipelines Scholarship Program] has been motivating, especially in letting me know about the CSAT STEM Club, to be involved, to actually be a leader. The advisors…were able to keep up with me and see how my progress was going in academics… It is nice having someone on campus who is looking out for you to make sure you’re doing the right things."
