The University of California, Irvine (UCI) has announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded almost $3 million to The Institute for Meaningful Engagement (T.I.M.E.). According to UCI, the five-year project will explore the factors prompting underrepresented students to leave science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs and investigate how faculty can foster better classroom cultures to retain them.
In the first phase, leadership at T.I.M.E. will lay a foundation of data related to retention that will inform participants about best practices and behaviors in the classroom setting.
In the second phase, they will learn about the systemic inequities that have existed in STEM programs, examine their own experiences, and try to build a deeper understanding of students’ experiences. Finally, leadership will observe T.I.M.E. champions in action and recommend modifications to classroom practices and policies.
To accomplish this, a multidisciplinary team will partner with the deans of STEM schools at UCI. They include Pheather R. Harris, director of the university’s California Alliance for Minority Participation. Harris hopes that T.I.M.E. will continue beyond its five-year projection, promoting greater change, and is grateful for the immense collaboration that led to its creation.
“The students see it. Other faculty, administration, and staff see it, and it makes a big difference that we’re all coming together to address [STEM inclusivity in higher education] with a unified intent,” she told UCI.
Harris is joined by Michael Dennin, vice provost for teaching & learning and professor of physics & astronomy, Brian Sato, associate dean of teaching excellence and innovation and professor of teaching in molecular biology & biochemistry, Natascha Buswell, assistant professor of teaching in mechanical & aerospace engineering, and Glenda Flores, associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies.
There are also plans for T.I.M.E. leadership to communicate progress to the NSF Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES) network.
NSF Includes is one of the NSF 10 Big Ideas for future investment. The other Big Ideas include Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier, Growing Convergence Research, Harnessing the Data Revolution, Mid-scale Research Infrastructure, Navigating the New Arctic, NSF 2026, Quantum Leap, Understanding the Rules of Life, and Windows on the Universe.
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