The National Science Foundation, or NSF, has awarded Augustana College with a $1.2 million grant to be used for research and development projects to help prepare students wanting to enter mathematics and science teaching careers. This grant will award the funds through the year 2029.
The purpose of this NSF Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program is to better prepare future educators to teach in high-needs schools. This program helps to match them with schools and provides them with professional development skills through working with diverse groups of students.
Dr. Mike Egan, an education professor and department chair at Augustana College, states that most of the grant funds will go towards funding scholarships for future STEM teachers who are committed to teaching in high-needs schools for four years or more.
This is not the first time Augustana College has been awarded this grant. Back in 2020, Augustana received a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant for $1.1 million, which helped 16 students going into teaching STEM. However, with the added funds from this grant, Augustana hopes to give scholarships to 32 total students.
Through this program, Augustana wishes to recruit about 4 future STEM teachers per year. The average amount awarded per scholarship is $44,000.
With this grant, during the summer between their junior and senior year at Augustana, students will be able to complete a research project with the assistance of a STEM faculty member.
For more information about this grant, head to www.augustana.edu or www.nsfnoyce.org.
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