By GREGORY ZELLER //
A STEM “preparatory center” will open doors to science and technology careers for traditionally underrepresented – and professionally discouraged – Long Island collegians.
Riding a $1.87 million federal award, steered east by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), SUNY Old Westbury is drawing up the Old Westbury STEM Center for Engagement, Entrepreneurship & Inclusion.
The comprehensive science, technology, engineering and mathematics hub – rolling with the stage name OW-STEM – will set students from “underrepresented backgrounds” on STEM-oriented trajectories, with “cutting-edge, inquiry-based STEM pedagogy” front and center, according to SUNY Old Westbury.
SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams said the sizeable federal award and the ambitious plans for the new center – which will leverage active research, technological innovations and green economics – cement the Old Westbury college’s place “among the national leaders in STEM education.”
Timothy Sams: Widening Old Westbury’s STEM lead.
“But what makes OW-STEM truly unique is its integration of STEM education, social justice and environmental sustainability,” the president added. “The launch of OW-STEM will enable us to improve and accelerate opportunities for STEM leaders needed for the diverse, multicultural, globally conscious future that lies ahead of us.”
And it will do it by encouraging “students who have traditionally been discouraged from and denied opportunities in the STEM fields” to come on in, according to Assistant Provost for Research & Strategic Academic Initiatives Michael Kavic, who designed much of OW-STEM’s structure and will serve as the program’s principal investigator.
“OW-STEM will allow students … to engage in a transformational educational experience, leading to successful careers in areas of vital need,” Kavic added. “This will enable our entire region to tap the unrealized potential of numerous brilliant young minds that will enrich our society for years to come.”
In addition to bolstering a future STEM workforce skilled in everything from biotechnology to semiconductor chip manufacturing, the OW-STEM furthers SUNY Old Westbury’s legacy of uplifting underserved populations – and helping the school create it was an easy call, according to Schumer.
“SUNY Old Westbury is one of the most diverse colleges in America and has a long track record of success in preparing men and women to move into careers in the sciences,” the senator said in a statement. “[This award] will kickstart the school’s efforts to grow in this area so that more and more students can experience the power of STEM education, reap the benefits when they graduate and contribute to the future green economy of Long Island.”
