Joliet, Ill. – In June 2018, the University of St. Francis (USF) shared news that it had been awarded the Robert Noyce Educator Scholarship grant through the National Science Foundation. USF is now using the grant, worth close to $1 million, to help recruit, prepare, place, and mentor excellent STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) educators in high needs schools in Joliet and the surrounding communities. In celebration of Bobbi Cummings, Seth Diaz, Ashley Hatz, Lissett Leija, Lizbeth Perez – USF’s first group Noyce STEM Educator Scholarship recipients – the University recently held a special Noyce STEM Education Scholars signing event.
“We are so excited to be working with this talented group of scholars and putting them on the path to be excellent STEM educators in schools where they are needed most,” said Lisa White-McNulty, Ph.D., USF Professor of Education and Noyce STEM Educator Program Director.
The Noyce STEM Educator Program provides scholarships for qualifying students who major in Biology or Mathematics with Secondary Licensure at USF. Scholarships are awarded for recipients’ junior and senior years and the one-year Master of Education with Secondary Licensure program. Noyce Scholarship recipients are required to teach in a high needs school for four (4) years after graduation. Scholars are selected based on qualities that indicate their potential to become exemplary teachers.
The Three-Year Noyce STEM Educator Scholarship provides: tuition and fees up to $12,000 per year of unmet need, as determined by FAFSA; opportunities for STEM teaching and research experience, with a stipend of up to $2000 for at least one summer; funding for conference travel in the senior year; advising support for academic and professional success; and mentoring for new teachers for their first two years.
Visit stfrancis.edu/noyce/ for more information on USF’s Noyce STEM Educator Scholarship.
The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves over 4,000 students nationwide, offering undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 50,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.
(Photo caption – The University of St. Francis’ first group of Noyce STEM Educator Scholars include: (left to right) Bobbi Cummings, Ashley Hatz, Seth Diaz, Lissett Leija, and Lizbeth Perez.)
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