SOUTHFIELD — Lawrence Technological University has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Association of American Colleges and Universities for curriculum development that will increase diversity and equity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
LTU was one of 20 universities and colleges nationwide — and the only one in Michigan — to receive the three-year grant through the AAC&U initiative, called Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM (TIDES).
The initiative will support curriculum and faculty development activities to develop models for broader institutional change for the advancement of evidence-based and culturally competent teaching in STEM, particularly in the computer and information science domains.
“It is critically important for higher education to find ways to increase success in STEM fields for both women and all students from underserved communities,” said AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider.
LTU met the criteria for the TIDES grant program through a:
• High level of institutional readiness.
• Demonstrated commitment to sustaining project activities.
• Targeted focus on increasing the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the undergraduate computer and information science disciplines.
• Innovative linking of computer and information sciences with other STEM and non-STEM courses.
Assistant professor Lior Shamir of LTU’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is the principal investigator for the grant, and Dean of Arts and Sciences Hsiao-Ping Moore and Assistant professor of psychology Franco Delogu are the co-PIs.
LTU’s College of Arts and Sciences has started to integrate course-based undergraduate research as a way to introduce more students to research earlier in their collegiate careers. Instead of waiting until their senior year to conduct research as part of a senior project, some LTU students will now do research in connection with course assignments.
“Course-based undergraduate research is an emerging approach to improve retention in STEM, especially for underrepresented minority and female students,” Shamir said. “Integrating research into undergraduate courses will significantly transform STEM education at LTU.”
Under the terms of the TIDES grant, in the next three years LTU will:
• Provide STEM faculty with opportunities to become proficient in incorporating culturally sensitive pedagogies into STEM courses.
• Develop interdisciplinary courses that include the computer/information science disciplines.
• Engage in course implementation that is grounded in evidence-based pedagogies that are culturally sensitive.
The TIDES initiatives is funded by a $4.9 million grant to AAC&U from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. See www.aacu.org/pkal/tides/index.cfm for more information about the TIDES project.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for return on undergraduate tuition investment, and highest in the Detroit metropolitan area. Lawrence Tech is also listed in the top tier of Midwestern universities by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus include over 60 student clubs and organizations and a growing roster of NAIA varsity sports.