Harris-Stowe State University’s ambitious goal of becoming a regional and national leader in producing African-Americans and other underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees is closer to becoming a reality with the announcement of a major gift from Emerson for $500,000. This award will provide STEM scholarships for North County students to attend Harris-Stowe, and will significantly expand on existing efforts and activities in STEM.
“We are excited to receive this news,” stated President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack. “This scholarship will be a significant catalyst to support our on ongoing mission in STEM and allows us to continue to strengthen and increase recruitment, retention and graduation of STEM majors at HSSU.”
STEM degrees are the fastest growing majors at HSSU. Currently, Harris-Stowe ranks No. 1 out of 34 public and private institutions in graduating African-Americans with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Additionally, 40 percent of all African-American males enrolled in mathematics degree programs out of the 13 public four-year institutions statewide are from HSSU. According to Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Dwyane Smith, the Emerson Scholarship is timely and will be significant in increasing opportunities for students in STEM at Harris-Stowe. “The Emerson Scholarship program will be pivotal in our efforts to attract scholars to our STEM programs,” stated Dr. Smith. Students who are awarded the scholarship will also participate in undergraduate research and will be able to present their research at regional and national conferences.
According to Dr. Warmack, the Emerson Scholarship for North County residents is ideal since more than 40 percent of students enrolled that graduate from Harris-Stowe hail from North County. “Emerson is proud to support under-represented students as they pursue educational opportunities and careers in STEM disciplines. We believe STEM careers will be critical as the economy changes,” said Pat Sly, executive vice president at Emerson. “We look forward to helping many future leaders in STEM as they follow their career dreams.”
Among Harris-Stowe’s vast STEM collaborations include a mathematics/engineering partnership with Saint Louis University’s (SLU) Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology and a biology/nursing agreement with Barnes-Jewish Goldfarb School of Nursing. Harris-Stowe will expand its STEM offerings with the addition of a degree in sustainability and urban ecology, minors in biology, chemistry, computation and physical science and a certificate in urban agriculture.
Harris-Stowe State University, located in midtown St. Louis, is a fully accredited four-year institution that offers 14 degree programs in the areas of teacher education, business and arts & sciences. In 2013, HSSU ranked No. 1 in the state in degree production of African-Americans in mathematics and ranked 4th of 13 public institutions in the degree production of African-Americans (Missouri Department of Higher Education). The university, which has been in existence for more than 150 years, offers the most affordable bachelor’s degree in the state of Missouri.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Wednesday, December 17th 2014 at 3:48PM
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