UMaine awarded funds to boost Native American STEM enrollment, Maine Public reports
Maine Public reported the University of Maine was awarded a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to help get more Native American college students to study STEM subjects. The grant will help establish a program to bring traditional knowledge and learning methods into higher education, according to the report. “One of the key elements of student success in college in general is them seeing themselves in the curriculum, reflected in the curriculum either explicitly or in the faculty or in the kinds of careers they’re working towards,” said Darren Ranco, associate professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs at UMaine. “We will work with university faculty and native knowledge-keepers to teach traditional native knowledge in the context of science classes here at the University of Maine.” The program will extend work that’s already being done with Maine middle and high school students, which Ranco said has already lead to a substantial increase in the number of Native American students enrolling in STEM fields at UMaine. It’s also meant to find ways to expand native involvement in STEM fields that can be repeated in different schools around the country, the report states.