Now assistant and associate professors at FAMU, the trio was
recently awarded more than $700,000 in grant dollars by the U.S. Department of
Education to assist the university in attracting underrepresented high school
students and encourage them to pursue and excel in careers in STEM disciplines.
The group's mission is to develop and strengthen research, leadership, and
critical thinking skills among youth.
The Program of Excellence will recruit high school juniors and seniors from area schools to attend a five-week, intensive summer workshop. The summer program will be comprised of courses in the STEM areas, research opportunities with undergraduate students, graduate students and STEM faculty, research lab tours and presentations. Participants will also attend monthly sessions during the academic year and be able to return in future summers for more intense research.
“We were compelled to bring this idea to FAMU because of the
lack of students pursuing careers in STEM,” said Black, associate professor of
management information systems in the School of Business and Industry. “The
latest data shows that out of all U.S. incoming freshmen declaring a major in STEM
disciplines, African Americans make up a lower percentage of the numbers than
of other groups. We will fall far behind in the 21st Century and 'Technology
Age' without these skills to scaffold us.”
Wilson-Arderly said the small representation of African
Americans in the STEM fields inspired her to get involved.
“The statistics showing the lack of African-Americans in
STEM disciplines is alarming,” said Wilson-Ardley, an assistant professor in
the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “We agreed that we must to
do something to improve the trends. Having our own STEM interests cultivated
through a program such as this [while in high school] made wanting to offer the
same opportunities to others a 'no brainer.'”
According to Clark, motivation to apply for the grant was a
result of remembering the seeds that were sown into him and his colleagues by geneticist
Lynette Padmore and 3M Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Ralph Turner, who
were directors and mentors of the original summer excellence program in the
'80s.
“We have been blessed to have received mentorship in the
areas of STEM in our formative years, so it is only fitting that we be a
blessing to future students who may desire to pursue STEM education and
careers,” said Clark, principal investigator for the grant and professor of
Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We want to reach back and assist other
kids, who are just like us, in realizing their dreams of being scientists and
researchers, just like we were able to do.”