SJC Receives $1.2 Million Grant from National Science Foundation

September 06, 2011

BROOKLYN AND LONG ISLAND, NY September 7, 2011 - St. Josephs College is pleased to announce that it was the recipient of a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundations Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. Funds from this grant will provide scholarship support to the Colleges Brooklyn and Long Island students who are pursuing careers as secondary math and science educators in high-need schools.

"St. Joseph's College is honored and delighted to have been selected for this prestigious grant, College President S. Elizabeth A. Hill, C.S.J., J.D. said. "It recognizes the excellence of our mathematics and science departments and will enable us to offer many more students opportunities to prepare for careers in these much-needed disciplines. I want to express my appreciation to everyone who contributed to our proposal, and congratulate them on this wonderful success.

The College will use the funds from this grant to provide at least 25 students with scholarships of approximately $10,000 a year to support their undergraduate or graduate studies. In addition, the College will also use grant funds to prepare and mentor these students by providing new educational resources and opportunities for professional development. Following the completion of their coursework, Robert Noyce Scholarship students will teach for two years for each year of scholarship money in a high-need secondary school. By providing this academic and financial support, the program will address the critical shortage of math and science teachers in the United States, as well as increase the number of women and under-represented minorities in these fields.

"A good education requires quality instruction in mathematics and science. Unfortunately, there are many schools in the United States where the teachers of these disciplines are under-credentialed and ill-qualified,  Professor David Seppala-Holtzman, Ph.D. said. "St. Joseph's has a long and proud tradition of producing highly prepared teachers in all disciplines, including these subjects. This grant will help St. Joseph's recruit and prepare teachers for these disciplines and place them in schools that desperately need them."

Over the past decade, the College has received two grants totaling more than $900,000, with funds from these grants used to encourage students from underrepresented groups to major in computing, the sciences and mathematics, and to enhance the depth and scope of computer science and mathematics programs at the College.