HBU Awarded Competitive Grant to Support Student Success in STEM
The HBU College of Science and Engineering and the Department of Student Success and Advising are pleased to announce the award of a $3 million, five-year grant from the US Department of Education under the Title V funding program for Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI) program. The award helps meet the nation’s call for a well-prepared and technologically advanced industry workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by enhancing the University’s academic and research-based programming in the sciences, engineering, and cyber/computer sciences areas. This Title V project is the second Title V grant the University has successfully obtained.
The new equipment and programming supported by this award will benefit all students at HBU with a specific focus on facilitating Hispanic students in completing their STEM degrees. As a four-year private institution, HBU has the distinction of being a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It serves more than 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students, and ranks fifth in diversity among Regional Universities West according to the US News & World Report. During the past five years, HBU has supported students in completing their degrees as a result of a prior Title V award, which focused on improving the overall fall-to-fall retention rate of undergraduate students. National and institutional data indicates a need to reinforce the academic preparedness of students interested in STEM and to support them holistically through to graduation and beyond.
Dr. Stan Napper, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, expressed appreciation for the funding from the Department of Education and for the great collaboration with the Department of Student Success and Advising. “Together, we can achieve the vision of the College: to be the best in the world for integrating principles of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with modern computing and information technology (IT), along with Christian values and standards (Faith). Our graduates will work to make the world healthier, more productive and more secure,” he said.
Dr. David Hao, former dean of Student Success, said, “Our first Title V grant was transformative for our campus, and this new grant builds upon that strong foundation. At HBU, we are always moving forward and finding innovative ways to support our students; my team and I are thrilled to partner with our colleagues across campus to continue that momentum through this new grant.”
A substantial portion of Title V resources will be dedicated to modernizing HBU’s infrastructure, supporting the engineering and science programs. Advances will include the areas of STEM equipment, instrumentation, technology, and the expansion of undergraduate and graduate programming in STEM to meet the incredible industry demand in Houston and across the country. Simultaneously, HBU will build on its long-term goal of reinforcing the pipeline guiding undergraduate students into graduate and professional education by expanding the STEM-specific advising services on campus. Faculty development activities supported by the award will empower faculty learning in pedagogy and in achieving learning outcomes for all students, especially underrepresented students.
These innovative programs, along with a STEM success coaching program, launching a STEM Student Ambassador peer-tutor program, and implementing a STEM Summer Bridge, will target those students needing additional support in foundational STEM courses. The resulting increases in student persistence and timely graduation rates will narrow the gap experienced by Hispanic and other underrepresented students to college degree attainment in the high-demand STEM fields.
We’ve been blessed recently to receive significant gifts and grants that all impact student success and the overall learning experience at HBU. We anticipate very positive outcome from these gifts and grants in terms of increased student retention, graduation rates, and career-related skills as students, staff, and faculty work together in advising, tutoring, and other important tasks that contribute to academic and personal success.
~ Dr. Robert Sloan