Educating Future Scientists and Mathematicians from Rural and Underserved Regions

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在得克萨斯理工大学的经济需要。 该项目为期五年，将为38名攻读生物学、化学生物化学、地球科学、数学统计学或物理天文学理学学士学位的学生提供四年奖学金。 该项目旨在通过将保留学生的最佳做法与农村社区的独特特点和优势相结合，提高农村地区STEM学生的保留率。 该项目旨在重新认识高等教育机构对农村社区的责任。 它还计划提供学生成功的模式，这些模式可以移植到为这些重要社区服务的其他机构。由于德克萨斯理工大学是一个西班牙裔服务机构，该项目有可能扩大参与，增加STEM劳动力的多样性。 该项目的总体目标是提高低收入，高成就的本科生与证明财政需要完成STEM学位。该项目的重点是开发一个以社区为基础的跨部门奖学金计划，支持来自农村地区的学生。它旨在通过注入数学和研究的基础课程，从农村经验中汲取的例子，以及创建和支持研究，服务学习和实习机会，是响应农村问题，从而利用农村社区的优势。该项目的核心是案例研究，旨在捕捉身份的细微差别，包括种族，农村，以及对地方和社区的依恋，从而针对相对被忽视的农村和高等教育的交叉点。一个概念框架植根于社会认知职业理论（SCCT）和通知的理论地点是为了创造洞察不断变化的农村人口。项目评估将提供有关招聘策略和计划要素有效性的形成性反馈，以及对项目满足保留和毕业目标以及成功传播可转移知识和策略的程度的总结性评估。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Texas Tech University. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund four-year scholarships to 38 students who are pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in biology, chemistry & biochemistry, geosciences, mathematics & statistics, or physics & astronomy. This project aims to improve retention of STEM students from rural areas by combining best practices for retention with the distinct features and strengths of the rural community. The project seeks to reshape understandings of the responsibilities of institutions of higher education with respect to rural communities. It also plans to provide models for student success that are transportable to other institutions serving these important communities. Because Texas Tech University is a Hispanic-serving Institution, this project has the potential to broaden participation and increase diversity in the STEM workforce. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project focuses on developing a community-based, cross-departmental scholarship program that supports students from rural areas. It seeks to leverage the strengths of rural communities through infusing foundational courses in mathematics and research with examples drawn from rural experiences as well as creating and supporting research, service-learning, and internship opportunities that are responsive to rural issues. At the center of the project are case studies designed to capture nuances of identity, including ethnicity, rurality, and attachment to place and community, thus targeting the relatively neglected intersection of rurality and higher education. A conceptual framework rooted in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and informed by Theory of Place is intended to create insights into the changing demographic of rurality. Project evaluation will provide formative feedback regarding the effectiveness of recruiting strategies and program elements as well as summative evaluation of the extent to which the project meets retention and graduation targets and successfully disseminates transferable knowledge and strategies. This project is funded by NSF's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.