What: Texas Regional STEM Degree Accelerator Grant Presentation and Press Event
When: 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 4
Where: UTEP Undergraduate Learning Center (UGLC) lobby
Why: Celebrating the grant presentation to UTEP (Lead Institution) and the additional regional teams that will be supporting the Texas Regional STEM Degree Accelerator Initiative.
Media are requested to RSVP at this link. Individual interviews with stakeholders will follow the press event. Engineering students will have display boards and will also be available for interviews.
Five institutions of higher education, including The University of Texas at El Paso as the lead grantee of the El Paso Regional Team, have been selected to receive STEM Accelerator grants, which range from $550,000 to $800,000 over three years.
Over the next decade, Texas is projected to have the second highest percentage of the nation’s future STEM job opportunities (approximately 10%). The purpose of the Texas Regional STEM Degree Accelerator (STEM Accelerator) initiative is to address this growth by strategically increasing the number of underrepresented students earning STEM degrees throughout the state.
Each institution has convened a regional consortium that includes two-year colleges, four-year colleges, K-12 partners, and workforce partners. Consortium members have examined regional workforce data, identified the STEM pathway(s) in which they plan to work, and have begun engaging faculty and workforce to (1) redesign gateway courses in STEM majors and ensure alignment to workforce needs and (2) provide professional development for faculty to improve teaching and learning in STEM fields.
The El Paso Regional Team includes:
- UTEP
- El Paso Community College
- Region 19 Education Service Center
- Workforce Solutions, Upper Rio Grande Valley
- The Borderplex Alliance
- Prudential El Paso Pramerica Systems Ireland
- Council for Regional Economic Expansion & Economic Development