The Corporation for National and Community Service has awarded the California State University system with a Learn and Serve America Higher Education grant totaling $1.5 million based on Cal State San Bernardino’s CoyoteCareers program. The grant will fund a new program, STEM SQUARED, to support service learning and promote student success in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines.

"This grant will be integral in engaging and supporting thousands of CSU students across all 23 campuses interested in science, technology, engineering and math," said Judy Botelho, the CSU's director of the Center for Community Engagement. "The (STEM)2 initiative will involve more than 400 STEM faculty and 3,000 students in service learning. Through this grant, we will increase the number of students interested in pursuing science careers and increase the number of graduates from CSU campuses with STEM degrees."

Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich learning experiences, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.

The grant replicates CSUSB’s CoyoteCareers, which provides academic support, career skills training and networking opportunities that enable students to succeed in their chosen STEM fields.

“We are excited to share our model program with the other CSU campuses,” said Diane Podolske, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Community-University Partnerships and co-director of CoyoteCareers. “The grant will facilitate new partnerships with CSU alumni, schools, government agencies and nonprofits to help current students succeed in their professional careers.”

CoyoteCareers was funded by a 2007 Title V grant that targets Hispanic and other low-income students in science, math, engineering and mathematics fields and select foreign languages (Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, and Turkish.) The program was developed through a multi-divisional collaboration between Community-University Partnerships, Alumni Affairs, and the Career Development Center at Cal State San Bernardino.

The Learn and Serve America grant will provide $283,210 over three years for the CSUSB CoyoteCareers team to share its knowledge, insights and expertise with other CSU campuses that are interested in developing a similar program.The new model program will be called STEMC3, which promotes Careers, Community and Connections in the STEM disciplines. Program specifics will be disseminated to CSU campuses through a symposium that provides detailed instruction and advice on program startup and execution; a training manual that provides “plug and play” instruction for implementation and personal consultation with CSU faculty, administrators and staff who implement the model program on their campuses.

“Given the state of the economy and the need for excellence in the STEM professions, we will be able to provide much needed support throughout the CSU system to ensure student success,” said Carol Dixon, interim director of the CSUSB Career Development Center and co-director of CoyoteCareers.

Grant activities will include the development of demonstration projects at five CSU campuses, including Chico, Fresno, Monterey Bay, San Marcos and Sonoma. The CSU will also host curriculum development institutes and provide small subgrants to all campuses to encourage service learning in STEM disciplines.

Finally, the STEM2 initiative will build strategic partnerships across California with organizations that share similar goals of increasing student success in science, technology, engineering and math.

Learn and Serve America is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation.

For more information on service learning and community engagement in the CSU, please visit the CSU's Center for Community Engagement.