Engineering college awarded NSF grant to reach community college students
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
The National Science Foundation has awarded Lipscomb University a $611,517 grant to encourage the study of engineering at three Nashville-area community colleges and to provide scholarship support.
The NSF S-STEM grant was awarded to the university based on a proposal submitted by Lipscomb University’s Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering. The funds, to be disbursed over five years, will fund enrichment programs and engineering scholarships in collaboration with Nashville State Community College, Columbia State Community College and Volunteer State Community College. Lipscomb’s proposal was designed in response to the Tennessee Promise, a scholarship providing two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in Tennessee. The funds from the NSF grant will be used for scholarships to encourage students at these community colleges to pursue a four-year degree in engineering at Lipscomb University following their completion of a two-year degree at a partnering community college.
“The study of science, technology, engineering and math is vitally important,” said Justin Myrick, dean of the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering. “An important focus of the NSF is to provide more engineering talent for the United States. We want to play a role in making an impact in this area by encouraging future engineers through enrichment activities and scholarships. By producing more engineers, we help raise the talent pool here which helps our state recruit top companies in our industry to Tennessee.”
Fort Gwinn, associate dean of engineering at Lipscomb and principal investigator on this proposal, said the grant creates a pathway for community college students to earn a four-year degree in engineering.
“This gives us resources to identify and recruit community college students who have a desire and the skill to become engineers,” said Gwinn. “Through enrichment activities such as workshops and seminars we want to catch these students early in their college career, expose them to the resources that are available to them and to take them to the next level of their college educational experience. Through this we want to prepare these students to be ready to walk right into their junior year at a four-year institution ready for engineering classes.”
Funds from the grant will provide for a total of six scholarships per year during the life of the grant awarded to participating students from the three community colleges. Funds will also be used for a Lipscomb-based tutoring program as well as a series of workshops held at the three institutions on engineering-related topics. Lipscomb University engineering faculty will also engage with students through the workshops and other activities.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the need to fill engineering-related jobs is among the top needs in the country. Myrick said that while the demand for engineers continues to grow, the number of trained engineers entering the job force isn’t growing at the same rate.
“There is still a shortage of engineers,” he said. “By offering opportunities to encourage students in these community colleges to pursue careers in engineering, we can play a role in helping fill this need while preparing our students for good jobs in this field.”
The Lipscomb University Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering’s Bachelor of Science degrees in civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering have been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the recognized accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. A key component of the engineering program is a missions emphasis. The Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering through the Peugeot Center for Engineering Service to Developing Communities sends multiple teams throughout the year to locations in Guatemala and Honduras, partnering with community development organizations in bridge projects and water projects among other initiatives. The college also partners with Nissan Americas to offer a series of robotics and engineering camps throughout the year.
For more information visit engineering.lipscomb.edu.