Solano Community College To Award 165 STEM Scholarships

News from Solano Community College:

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the nation’s premier agency that sponsors STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research and education activities in colleges and universities across the country, has granted Solano Community College $622,715 to award 165 scholarships to “academically talented and financially needy” students over a five-year period.

Dr. Jowel Laguerre, the outgoing Superintendent-President of SCC was pleased, stating “I am happy that SCC received the grant. This is the second time within one year that we received an NSF grant. I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to Professors Genele Roads, Chuck Spillner, and Zhen Chen, Drs. Jose Ballesteros and John Yu, Cynthia Garcia, Peter Cammish, Pei-Lin Van’t Hul and others who were involved.”

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Professor Genele Rhoads, the Director of the project and the President of the Solano County Mathematics Education Association stated, “The 2+1 STEM scholarship grant from the National Science Foundation provides a wonderful opportunity for Solano Community College to support academically talented students who want to study and work in a STEM field; especially students who may be the first in their family to attend college or have difficulty paying for college. In addition to financial support, the program includes counseling and mentoring and provides opportunities for tutoring, internships, and special projects.”

Dr. John Yu, the Dean for the School of Math and Science and a former NSF program director, credited Dr. Laguerre’s leadership and the great STEM programs at SCC for helping to secure the grant. “The chance of receiving an NSF STEM scholarship grant is about 10 to 15% and it is a very competitive process.” he said.

The grant will award 25 to 35 scholarships per year to students in Astronomy, Biology, Biotech, Chemistry, CADD, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology/Geography, Horticulture, Mathematics, Physics, Surveying, and Water/Waste Water Treatment. If these students transfer to a four-your institution in a STEM major, they will be awarded an additional year to continue their study at that institution. The scholarship support will average $3,000 per year per student.

For more information, contact Dr. John Yu, Dean of Math and Sciences, at Zhanjing.Yu@solano.edu or707.864-7110

About Solano Community College:

The College has served the community in Solano County since 1945 when it was founded as Vallejo Junior College. In the early 1970s, the College moved to its present Fairfield site, and is presently serving over 8,000 students throughout the academic year. For more information, please visit us at www.solano.edu.