UCR Program Steers Low-Income, Hispanics To Math, Science

A UC Riverside program that steers low-income and Hispanic youths toward careers in math and science received a $3.93 million infusion of funds from the U.S. Department of Education, campus officials announced Monday.

The five-year DOE grant will support efforts in the Bourns College of Engineering and the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UCR to raise interest among in undergraduate and graduate degrees in STEM -- science, technology, engineering and technology -- fields, according to Chinya Ravishanker, associate dean at Bourns.

She said between 8,000 and 10,000 students have rotated through STEM programs since 2004.

The grant will enable the university to expand the ways in which it connects with students, using the Internet, summer bridge programs and mentoring.

"In the past, our staff has visited community colleges to talk to students and counselors about careers in engineering and science, and about academic preparation for these fields,'' Ravishanker said. "We now plan to increase access, creating advising booths where the students can come at times that are convenient to them to meet with our advisors through teleconferencing.''

The Riverside Community College District and Mt. San Jacinto College are co-beneficiaries of the federal grant, but students from any two-year school will be eligible for assistance.

"Engineering and science will be the primary drivers of social and economic change in the 21st century, so strength in these areas is critical to our future,'' Ravishanker said. "Industry cannot function without a technically competent workforce.''

She said the U.S. is falling "farther and farther behind'' Asian and European countries where STEM programs have higher rates of participation.

UCR was awarded the grant, in part, because it's federally classified as a "Hispanic Serving Institution,'' campus officials said. --City News Service