DePauw Receives $1M Grant To Build Diversity In STEM

DePauw University will receive a five year, $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to encourage more women and minority students to study STEM fields.

The effort is funded by a grant aimed at tackling a nationwide issue.

The institute gave money this year to 33 colleges and universities across the country. Chemistry professor Jackie Roberts says the grant tasks the school with modifying classes to recruit a wider array of students and to help more of them succeed once they’re enrolled.

“So part of the grant is recognizing that the institution needs to change, not the students,” says Roberts. “A lot of previous grants ... they would try to fix the students when they came in. So they would offer bridge programs or other opportunities for students and what they found out that wasn’t sustainable.”

This grant encourages schools to focus on retaining the students accepted into the programs.

“We need to stop thinking of this as sort of what they describe as a deficit-based thinking model, that is students aren’t ready to take the classes or they’re missing something,” she says. “Instead how do we change so that we provide more inclusive teaching so that all students can reach their potential?”

Roberts says DePauw will also try to reduce the number of classes that, historically, have been aimed at thinning the number of science majors. The effort is made to increase the number of minority students going into the STEM workforce.

“Everyone brings different strengths and different experiences, and right now, I think we’re missing big parts of that because we do not have a very diverse workforce in STEM,” says Roberts.

Roberts adds that she’s hopeful the benefit won’t just be to STEM classes.

“Are students being drawn away from other majors or pushed out of STEM? So that’s one thing we need to figure out,” she says. “But if we make our STEM education program more inclusive we are hoping to not only increase the diversity in our STEM classes but actually increase the diversity at DePauw.”

The changes will included restructuring classes that have traditionally been lecture-style, so they’re more conversational and students stay engaged.

The school will also create what officials are calling “STEM Guides” – students who could mentor classmates, in hopes fewer will drop out or change majors.