Two faculty from the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering – assistant professor Jerrod A. Henderson, Ph.D., and lecturer Hasan Zerze, Ph.D. – have been awarded a share of a $100,000 planning grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program (S-STEM). The collaborative project, “Building a Chemical Engineering Inter-Institutional Consortium to Support Talented, Low-income Students,” runs through 2025 and will also involve the University of Kentucky and Prairie View A&M University.
S-STEM “supports institutions of higher education to fund scholarships for academically talented low-income students and to study and implement a program of activities that support their recruitment, retention and graduation in STEM” to “enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields.”
“Our aim is to build a consortium among the University of Houston, Prairie View A&M, and the University of Kentucky in an effort to support engineering students who face financial barriers and challenges pertaining to engineering identity development,” said Zerze. “Our aim to mitigate the impact of financial stress on students’ academic success and overall well-being is driven by the recognition that financial difficulties can significantly hinder educational outcomes.
“Data shows that financial stress is closely linked to decreased academic performance and mental health challenges. By addressing these issues, the consortium can play a pivotal role in empowering academically promising students who might otherwise be discouraged by financial burden.”
Henderson connected with University of Kentucky PI Sarah Wilson, Ph.D., and Prairie View A&M PI Keisha Antoine, Ph.D., at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Chemical Engineering Faculty Summer School held at the Colorado School of Mines in 2022. Henderson describes the chemical engineering community as “tight-knit”, connected by “strong support for student success, belonging, and wellness.”
“The potential benefits of the trio collaboration are centered on not working in silos and understanding how to support students more broadly,” he added. “We hope to learn through this planning grant that engages institution types – Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), and Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) – ways that we can better support highly gifted chemical engineering students who may have high financial need.”
“We want to build institutionalized supports that will exist and be supported after the duration of the grant,” Henderson continued. “From this planning grant, we also hope to apply for a large-scale S-STEM grant to provide student scholarships. We anticipate that what we learn will be transferable to other disciplines and will be published so that researchers from other disciplines might start with our work as a foundation.”
Though some existing intervention approaches, such as financial support, mentorship programs, and networking opportunities may provide an initial plan of approach, Zerze emphasizes that these are only a starting point, and that investigators “are primarily relying on the insights from student groups to guide [the] shaping [of] services that address their specific needs.”
“So often we develop services and supports for students but do not consider or center their voices,” added Henderson. “This planning grant boldly foregrounds student-driven ideas and solutions.”