Â鶹´«Ã½

A chemistry class at WMU prior to pandemic health and safety guidelines being implemented.

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Helping transfer Â鶹´«Ã½s thrive in chemistry and biochemistry majors is the focus of a awarded to a team of Â鶹´«Ã½ professors.

"The S-STEM program at the National Science Foundation is specifically to support low-income but academically talented Â鶹´«Ã½s in STEM fields," says Dr. Megan Grunert Kowalske, chair of the Department of Chemistry and principal investigator on the grant, who aims to offer more support for transfer Â鶹´«Ã½s at Western. "We have a lot of great programs in place at Western, like First-Year Experience and all of these freshman orientation things, but when you show up in January as a sophomore or as a junior, there just isn’t that same sense of belonging or cohort-building."

The five-year NSF grant will fund scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate Â鶹´«Ã½s in the chemistry and biochemistry programs, as well as establish cohorts to foster community and a sense of belonging among transfer Â鶹´«Ã½s.

"This project is strongly aligned with our college's commitment to support a diverse group of Â鶹´«Ã½s as they transition from community college to WMU," says Dr. Carla Koretsky, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"We know that the transfer population tends to be underrepresented in many ways. They're often first-generation Â鶹´«Ã½s, they're more likely to be coming from underrepresented minority backgrounds, they're often low income to begin with," Kowalske adds. "So, they have more hurdles in the way to successfully complete a degree."

The project will focus on recruiting, retaining and supporting future chemists and biochemists through structured and targeted interventions, such as workshops to form connections with other Â鶹´«Ã½s and faculty members as well as resources to help members of the cohort seek out research Â鶹´«Ã½ and internships.

"They have a chance to see what a career would be like and make more connections so that when they graduate, they hopefully can find a really fulfilling job," says Kowalske. The project will also include faculty programming to foster inclusive mentoring practices, incorporate evidence-based instructional practices into courses and support diverse Â鶹´«Ã½s.

It will also involve community outreach, such as a service project, that Â鶹´«Ã½s in the cohort will direct and drive. "I've done a lot of research on women and minorities that are in science, and they tend to have a really strong drive to give back," Kowalske says. "They felt that somebody helped them to get where they are and they want to continue paying that forward."

While a select group of Â鶹´«Ã½s will join the cohorts over the five-year duration of the project, the resources and programming developed will be available to all Â鶹´«Ã½s.

"I think a lot of effort in the past has been to teach Â鶹´«Ã½s that are underrepresented how to be successful in the system as it is," says Kowalske. "My perspective is that we need to disrupt the system as it is. It’s not built for these Â鶹´«Ã½s. So they keep getting messages that they shouldn’t be here or they don’t belong when, in fact, it's just a broken system."

The first cohort will begin in January 2021. Anyone interested in applying should contact Kowalske. More information will be released when available on the Department of Chemistry's webpage.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.