Dillard University Receives $1.25 Million for STEM Education and Research

6 Dillard University students talking together outside on campus

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a five-year, $1.25 million HBCU-UP grant to Dillard University. The grant is in support of Improving Minority Participation and Completion (IMPACT) through STEM initiative. It will help increase the number of students applying to the institution’s STEM programs and retention rate. The HBCU-UP grant will also help Dillard achieve its academic goals, redesign STEM coursework and prepare Dillard students’ for their future career paths and research experiences.

“This award is a follow-up to an earlier NSF planning grant completed by Dr. Buckles, the chair of the biology department, and Dr. Page, the vice president of academic affairs. It represents a major investment in Dillard’s efforts to advance STEM education in general and prepare Dillard graduates for an advanced STEM workforce. The HBCU-UP award will have a lasting impact on the Dillard STEM program,” Theo Callier, the assistant vice president of research and sponsored programs said in a statement.

Dr. Buckles who also serves as an associate professor of biology at Dillard shared similar sentiments by noting that the grant will allow faculty members to receive professional development in their designated STEM field. “We are very excited about the grant, which will support Dillard’s continuing efforts to increase retention and graduation rates in STEM majors,” he said. “The grant will also focus on curriculum redesign of key gatekeeper STEM courses, provide professional development for faculty, and link research and workforce development opportunities for our students.”

The hallmark of Dillard’s STEM program has been its commitment to providing a quality education for students who major in the natural sciences disciplines. Dillard University is known as place that not only educates some of the country’s top scholars and leaders, but a place where the community can come and learn.

For more information on Dillard’s STEM program, please contact Lauren R.D. Fox (lfox@dillard.edu).