SUNY Adirondack awarded $500,000 grant

QUEENSBURY, New York (Oct. 9, 2024) — SUNY Adirondack is proud to announce it is the lead institution for a project awarded a $500,000 grant by the U.S. National Science Foundation in its inaugural year of the $14.5 million Two-Year College in STEM Education (ITYC) program.

SUNY Adirondack was awarded a grant through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative for a collaborative project with University at Albany and SUNY Geneseo.

The grant is intended to provide two-year college chemistry faculty with professional development support for collaboratively adopting and implementing evidence-based practices to improve the student experience in introductory chemistry courses.

"Community colleges play a critical role in training people from all parts of the country for a variety of STEM careers including future scientists, engineers, and technicians," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

The ITYC program granted 35 awards to institutions in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Several projects involve collaborations among institutions.

"We are honored to be part of this project and look forward to collaborating with professors and students from throughout the Northeast," said Kristine D. Duffy, Ed.D., president of SUNY Adirondack. "I thank Dr. Christine O'Connor for her diligence in proposing a project that engages faculty across community colleges in innovative ways to deliver Chemistry instruction and add more graduates to this important field."

The program invests in projects that contribute to student success in STEM-based foundational courses and accelerate improvements in the quality of effectiveness of undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

"The Innovation in Two-Year College in STEM Education program is essential to how we expand pathways and opportunities so that more talented people from every part of the nation have the opportunity to make their way into STEM," Panchanathan said. "I'm pleased that Congress recognized the critical role of community colleges in the 'CHIPS and Science Act of 2022' and the foundation they provide for educational opportunities. Programs like ITYC are how we build on that foundation to reach more young people who have bright futures ahead of them in the STEM community."

SUNY Adirondack, University at Albany and SUNY Geneseo will host two workshops in 2025 and 2026 to provide training and collaborative development opportunities to faculty and students in New England and New York.

To learn more, email Christine O'Connor, SUNY Adirondack professor of Chemistry, at oconnorc@sunyacc.edu.