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Grant to Help Disabled Students
Montgomery Advertiser via Yellowbrix
October 16, 2009
Oct. 16—Area college students with disabilities who are pursuing college degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics soon will be able to apply for scholarships to help them attend college.
Auburn Montgomery and Alabama State University announced Thursday that they will receive a portion of a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help Alabama students with disabilities earn college degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and ultimately enter the work force. The grant was awarded to colleges that are part of the Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM, which also includes Auburn University, Tuskegee University, Central Alabama Community College, Southern Union State Community College and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.
The alliance also includes six school districts in Lee, Chambers, Elmore, Montgomery, Macon and Tallapoosa counties and has an outreach component that covers the entire state, officials said.
AUM’s share of the grant will be $279,930 over a five-year period, and ASU’s will be $390,000.
The Alabama Alliance, one of nine such National Science Foundation-sponsored alliances in the country, will support 106 students with disabilities majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines each year. ASU expects to award about 80 scholarships using its share of the grant, said ASU Carl Pettis, who is serving as ASU’s principal investigator for the project.
“We’re hoping to make an impact and let students with disabilities know they too can succeed in mathematics and other STEM disciplines,” said Pettis, a professor of mathematics and interim chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the university. “We hope to make a difference in their life and education.”
