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LCCC and ESU partner on grant to help students complete STEM degrees

Published March 30. 2022 11:13AM
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CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE

To support students studying to earn their associate and bachelor’s degrees in STEM majors, Lehigh Carbon Community College is one of the partners for a National Science Foundation grant through East Stroudsburg University to assist low-income, first-generation and minority students.

The program is administered by ESU through National Science Foundation funding, the S-STEM Program (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

LCCC has applied to receive over $197,000 in this Clear Path funding.

LCCC is one of the partners in East Stroudsburg’s five-year, $5 million grant to provide scholarships and support for students in targeted STEM programs with the goal to help students complete their associate and bachelor’s degrees. LCCC’s award will cover student scholarships, student field trips and travel to meetings and workshops.

The goal of the project is to increase the success of STEM students, support diverse populations in STEM majors and will also address elevating the level of communication between the two institutions, coordination of the curriculum and holistic academic advising.

LCCC is designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and serves as a gateway to a bachelor’s degree for low income, first generation and minority students, as well as underprepared students who need intensive support.

Mary Engel, LCCC assistant professor of chemistry, will serve as LCCC’s Clear Path liaison.

She will work with LCCC student services and academics to identify and recruit scholars and help them to complete the program application.

She will advise scholars and direct them to college services and resources and assist with professional development for staff and faculty.

Previously, LCCC and ESU collaborated on a Clear Path grant from 2016 to August of 2021.

Of the student scholars participating in that cohort, 100 percent have completed or are expected to complete their bachelor’s degrees and 100 percent completed their associate degrees.

To be eligible for the program, students can major in biology, chemical technology, chemistry, computer forensics and digital security, computer science, environmental science, mathematics or physics.

Students who would like to learn more about the grant opportunities and transfer to ESU should contact Engel, assistant professor of chemistry and Clear Path liaison at mengel@lccc.edu.

Additional information on the Clear Path program is available at https://www.esu.edu/clear_path/index.cfm.

PRESS PHOTO COURTESY LEHIGH CARBON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Announcing a new grant for STEM students are: (seated) Mary Engel, assistant professor of chemistry, Lehigh Carbon Community College (Clear Path Liaison); Samantha Gigliotti, assistant professor of biology, County College of Morris (Clear Path Liaison); Nicole Saporito, professor and department chair of mathematics, computer science and pre-engineering, (Clear Path Liaison), and Rosana Reyes, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, both with Luzerne County Community College; (standing) Margaret Ball, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, Kristin Noblet, associate professor of mathematics, and Olivia Carducci, professor and chair of mathematics, all with East Stroudsburg University; Kimberly Maricle, 2021 ESU biochemistry graduate; Danielle Ringhoff, assistant professor of chemistry and Karen H. Bearce, interim vice president of academic affairs, both with Northampton Community College.