The leader of Gov. Ed Rendell's initiative to enhance the commonwealth's education and workforce development efforts addressed a group of community and a campus committee today (Feb. 12) at Penn State New Kensington.
Sue Mukherjee, special assistant to Secretary of Labor and Industry of Pennsylvania, is the state lead for the STEM Initiative that targets females and minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics -- the four core disciplines critical to the development of America's technological innovations today and in the future.
Pennsylvania received a $500,000 education grant from the National Governors Association to establish a system of coordinated STEM centers throughout the Commonwealth that will serve as the foundation for developing and implementing innovative strategies to enhance STEM education in Pennsylvania's K-12 schools. Plans are to establish five regional STEM centers and a state center to coordinate efforts across the Commonwealth.
STEM initiatives are efforts designed to increase the number of grade-school students, especially females, minorities and the underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers while continuing the development of effective strategies to retain, recruit and re-train our incumbent workforce in these critical fields.
Penn State New Kensington is looking to become a regional STEM Center. The campus has been in the forefront of bringing young females into the science fields.
Its annual FIRSTE (Females Interested in Reaching for Science, Technology and Engineering) program, supported by a grant from the Bozzone Family Foundation, is a two-day summer program that targets potential college-bound ninth-through-11th grade girls who are considering a career in science, technology or engineering.
The objective of the program is to foster involvement of girls in these traditionally male fields by reaching them during the career-formative years of high school. The program aims to allay the concerns of young women and to give them career options.
Stem grants will enhance the FIRSTE program and expand the initiatives into the campus’ Kids in College program, as well as the University’s current curriculum. Kids in College is a summer program that a variety of academic and sports activities for students in grades one through 12. Each year, more than 400 youths participate in the campus camps.
For information on the Stem program, call (724) 334-6050