Davids Announces Funding to Support Low-Income STEM Students at JCCC
Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $1,487,766 to Johnson County Community College's (JCCC) STEM Scholars Program. The program works to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. In the next six years, the project will provide scholarships to 54 students pursuing associate degrees in STEM fields with the intent to transfer to a 4-year university.
"As an alum of Johnson County Community College, I applaud their efforts to support students and families who may otherwise not have access to STEM learning programs," said Davids. "Graduating from a higher-education institution, trade school, or apprenticeship program does not just benefit the individual, it benefits the entire community. I am thankful we have top-notch learning opportunities here in Kansas' Third District."
Rep. Davids with Dr. Andy Bowne, President of Johnson County Community College.
"We appreciate the National Science Foundation's awareness of the important role community colleges play in STEM education across our nation.," said Dr. Andy Bowne, President of Johnson County Community College. "This support will create tremendous opportunities for JCCC students."
"We are very excited for this opportunity to build on the work we accomplished with our previous grant through the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program," said Professors Beth Edmunds and Suneetha Menon, Co-Principal Investigators. "This new 6-year grant will enable us to provide academic, financial, and other wraparound support to even more students who begin their college career at JCCC to then transfer successfully on to a 4-year institution."
Davids voted for the American Rescue Plan which brought more than $110 million in emergency funding for colleges, universities, and students in Kansas' 3rd Congressional District during the pandemic. She also recently announced federal funding to provide scholarships for Veterans and their family members through JCCC's Commercial Driver's License (CDL) program.
Background
JCCC's STEM Scholars Program: Achieving Successful Transfer (Self-Efficacy, Independence, Persistence, and Momentum) will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians, and will support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need.
First-year students will receive up to two-years of scholarship support at JCCC, the largest community college in Kansas. The project will develop a series of co-curricular activities seeking to empower students when navigating the transfer process to a 4-year higher-education institution. With mentorships and dedicated programming, the STEM Scholars Program will increase both diversity of low-income students pursuing STEM degrees and the number of community college students continuing as STEM majors upon their transfer.
Federal funding for this grant was authorized through the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, which Davids has voted to support every year since being sworn into congress.