Texas Rio Grande Valley STEM project gets a $1.4 million NSF grant

POSTED ON Oct 11, 2018

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has announced a new National Science Foundation award for a project in its College of Sciences. UTRGV was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first public university of the 21st century in Texas.

The UTRGV project, “Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM Through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Community Engagement” received a $1,480,002 research grant, which began Oct. 1 and scheduled to end Sept. 30, 2023.

According to a UTRGV statement, the project will support the aims of the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.

The project will facilitate training for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty, and offers courses that build on the cultural characteristics of students, families, the community, and regionally relevant research.

Investigators for the project are:

Dr. Alexis Racelis, the grant’s principal investigator; Agroecology and Resilient Food Systems Program director; assistant professor in the UTRGV School for Earth, Environmental and Marine Sciences, Department of Biology.
Dr. Angela Chapman, assistant professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning, UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration.
Dr. Francisco Guajardo, executive director of B3 Institute and professor in the UTRGV Department of Organization and School Leadership.
Juan Salinas, doctoral candidate, UTRGV Educational Leadership
Cristina Trejo, associate vice president for Community Engagement and Economic Development.

Under the project, trained faculty would offer students the opportunity to take core (“gateway”) courses in math and biology in a Spanish and/or bilingual format.

The goal of the project is improve understanding and appreciation for science and math by connecting learning and research with local partners and local culture in ways that relate to their everyday lives and the well-being of their communities.

“We are all excited for the tremendous potential this project has in improving undergraduate STEM education at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Ultimately, this project embodies the UTRGV mission, as it helps us create a transformative and accessible educational environment that promotes student success, research and creative works, and community engagement,” said Dr. Alexis Racelis, the grant’s principal investigator.