| NSF Org: |
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 24, 2006 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 7, 2011 |
| Award Number: | 0622930 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Mark Leddy
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2006 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2012 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $3,371,846.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,766,595.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2009 = $517,314.00 FY 2010 = $475,053.00 FY 2011 = $440,388.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1050 STEWART ST. LAS CRUCES NM US 88003 (575)646-1590 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1050 STEWART ST. LAS CRUCES NM US 88003 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Disabilities Research in STEM |
| Primary Program Source: |
04000809DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04000910DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001011DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001112DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
For U.S. leadership in science and engineering, there is no more important issue than the development of a skilled technical workforce. As a Nation, we are not attracting the numbers of science and engineering students our Nation needs to sustain its leadership. Nor are we successfully tapping all our domestic resources, especially under-represented minorities and women. The pool of potential science and engineering students will increasingly reflect the growing diversity in the American workforce and society. So warned Warren Washington, Chairman of the National Science Board in his statement to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space on May 22, 2002. RASEM2 will complete its 5th year of funding in October of 2006 and is seeking another 5 years as a progression towards institutionalization. RASEM2 is penultimate in the establishment of "best practices" in service to students with disabilities in STEM education. Premier to its efforts is the Mentoring program, whereby RASEM2 has supported hundreds of college students with disabilities in a manner that promotes success. Forty of our mentors have graduated and moved on to employment in STEM or graduate school. Two of our Mentors have obtained their Ph.D. and are now professors at established universities. Mentoring and mentor projects have further outreached to hundreds more K-12 students with disabilities through creative hands-on math, science, and engineering activities. RASEM2's Teacher Outreach Projects have similarly touched thousands more lives. Our RASSI Summer Institutes bring contemporary experiences to students with disabilities during that critical time middle school when students decide on the most likely career path. Partner projects allow our fellow institutions the option of evolving their ongoing efforts toward student success to include students with disabilities or to tap into their particular expertise and apply it to students with disabilities. Reaching the Pinnacle is the ultimate. It solidifies and extols our achievements for consumption and use by the world at large. The pursuit of models that optimize the transformation high school students with disabilities into college students with disabilities enrolled in STEM career tracks suggested our research approach. Special education students and students with special needs must develop a transition plan starting as early as their freshmen year in high school. It is not unusual for universities to send representatives from the offices for students with disabilities to participate in the process. This involvement does not address STEM in any significant way or offer strategies that will direct the student toward this end. RASEM2 Reaching the Pinnacle proposes to have STEM professionals guide the process with appropriate support delineated in the transition plan as the student progresses through high school. Comparisons to students with equal capabilities, but not the same opportunity, will indicate the effectiveness of the support. Differing levels of intervention will reveal the strategy with the highest potential for achieving the goal. RASEM2 Reaching the Pinnacle proposes activities that will have significant impacts on a nation that must leave no stone unturned in its quest for dominance in STEM education and achievement. Students with disabilities, through the efforts of the RADs, will help lead the way back to preeminence.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Reaching The Pinnacle Project Outcomes Report
New Mexico State University, March 2013
Reaching the Pinnacle (RTP) was the third, five-year (2006 – 2012) phase of a National Science Foundation funded project originally established by Dr. William McCarthy in 1995 and housed in the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University. RTP recruited and retained students with disabilities into academic programs leading to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The RTP service area included the state of New Mexico and far West Texas. RTP was one of the four original alliances (later 13) in the United States and the only alliance in the Southwest. RTP’s mission was to support the advancement of individuals with disabilities (e.g., learning disorders, traumatic brain injury, systemic health/medical condition, attention deficit disorder, physical/orthopedic) in university STEM programs and ultimately increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce in the United States.
RTP sustained three major components: Mentor Programs, Partner Projects, and RASSI Institutes.
The Mentor program was the primary thrust of RTP and provided tuition stipends tutorial, technology, financial, and professional development support to fulltime students with disabilities seeking STEM careers. RTP mentors were supported with research projects, teaming with university professors, internships, and presenting their research at local, state, and national conferences. Mentors were enrolled in a variety of college/university programs to include: electrical engineering, computer graphics, mechanical engineering, psychology, computer information systems, biochemistry, and computer science. Over 350 mentors on 27 college/university campuses were supported by RTP. A total of 80 students with disabilities graduated with higher education degrees: 17 Associate Degrees; 51 Bachelor Degrees; 10 Master Degrees; and 1 Doctorate Degree. RTP/NMSU graduates secured employment with leading high-tech companies in STEM fields to include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, El Paso Electric, Halliburton, Hewlett Packard, Northwest Pacific Engineering, Pacific Northwest National Labs, Sandia National Laboratory, University of California, and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. Often the gifts and talents of students with disabilities are overlooked. RTP focused on their strengths and helped them to achieve their dreams. In turn, more students with disabilities are contributing to the workforce and staying in school.
Partner projects were encouraged and provided teacher and student opportunities to pursue STEM activities outside the general education curriculum enhancing the school’s STEM programs. The purpose of the partner projects was to outreach to as many teachers as possible and, in turn, outreaching to their students which had a much broader impact creating disability and STEM awareness. RTP maintained a strong educational and professional partnership with 27 two-year colleges and four-year universities in New Mexico and far west Texas. RTP supported through mini-grants over 25 partner projects servicing over 2,500 students (the majority having a disability), teachers, and mentors.
Regional Alliance Science Summer Institutes (RASSI) again targeted students with disabilities. Three institutes were held annually to accommodate high school students within the RTP service area. A variety of topics to include robotics, bridge and canoe building, wildlife, rocketry, astronomy, water technology, and recycling were scheduled to provide enrichment activities to over 315 students. The goal of the RASSI camps was to encourage students to consider all STEM careers.
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