Dr. Felisha Herrera Villarreal is elated.
That’s because she’s been awarded two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants that will bring San Diego State University nearly $2.6 million to support research projects focused on diversifying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) pathways.
“I am honored,” said Herrera Villarreal, assistant professor in the College of Education’s Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education. “In particular, I am excited to serve as the principal investigator for the HSI-STEM project as one of the first 31 research awards funded nationally through the new NSF Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, which invests in projects that build capacity and increase retention and graduation rates for STEM students at Hispanic Serving Institutions.”
Herrera Villarreal was awarded nearly $1.5 million for the “Hispanic Serving Institutions: STEM Transitions, Experiences and Mobility”, a five-year project that considers student mobility and transitions between multiple institutions in its work to transform STEM degree pathways. Specifically, this project will identify mechanisms of support for students' transitions between two and four-year colleges, in addition to the multiple movements that might occur prior to this critical transition.
The researcher also received more than $1.1 million for the “Understanding and Removing Faculty Barriers for the Adoption and Implementation of Proven Interventions” project. The award is for a collaboration between SDSU and the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Herrera Villarreal is co-principal investigator along with Dr. Jessie Smith, a Associate Vice Chancellor of Research and Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Dustin Thoman, associate professor in the SDSU Department of Psychology, is the lead principal investigator.
This study will investigate the factors that help or hinder STEM undergraduate instructors from implementing strategies that have demonstrably positive impacts on student outcomes. The research will specifically focus on an intervention called the Utility Value Intervention, which has been shown to have a positive impact especially on students who are first generation college students or who are from racial and ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields.
According to the National Science Foundation, Hispanics constitute 16 percent of the U.S. workforce, but they make up only 6 percent of the U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce. Additionally, more than 60 percent of Hispanic students attend Hispanic Serving Institutions.
"NSF has a long history of funding individual researchers and projects at HSIs," Jim Lewis, acting NSF assistant director for Education and Human Resources, said when announcing the 31 awards totaling about $45 million. "This new program seeks to support growth at HSIs that have traditionally lacked federal resources, to assure that they can encourage the development of scientists and engineers."
Herrera Villarreal said her HSI-STEM project examines regional and national pathways that show the role of community colleges and Hispanic Serving Institutions, particularly for underrepresented students.
“This project will allow us to identify specific strategies to improve system-wide partnerships, programs, structures and policies to promote STEM educational outcomes,” she said.
Read more at SDSU NewsCenter