Iona University Awarded $1.5 Million National Science Foundation Grant

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Iona University a five-year, $1.5 million grant to establish the INSTRUCT program, or Inspiring STEM Teachers to Reach Underserved Classrooms Together. Working in partnership with SUNY Westchester Community College (WCC), the grant will help Iona prepare the next generation of STEM educators and meet the critical need for teachers of science, technology, engineering and math in underserved districts. Funding was provided through the foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

Students in Iona’s INSTRUCT program will receive scholarship funding for the final two years of their undergraduate study and one year of graduate study in the University’s 4+1 BS/MST combined degree programs, which allows students to earn their bachelor's and master's degrees in just five years, saving tuition expenses while getting them into their careers faster. Current Iona students and WCC transfer students who are accepted into Iona’s 4+1 BS/MST programs and are studying to become biology, chemistry or mathematics teachers will be eligible to apply.

Along with scholarship support, the INSTRUCT program is designed to recruit additional STEM students and/or WCC transfer students to the field, while also providing experiential learning opportunities, academic enrichment and other opportunities. The program will also support INSTRUCT alumni during their careers by providing mentorship and other support activities as they develop and grow in the classroom.

In return, INSTRUCT scholars must commit to two years of working as a full-time teacher for every one year of Noyce scholarship support they receive. This process will be facilitated by Iona’s partner school districts where students also complete student teaching.

The grant was awarded to principal investigator Kathleen Kristian, Ph.D., associate professor of inorganic chemistry and chair of the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, and her fellow INSTRUCT program faculty members including Christina Andruk, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology; Joseph Stabile, Ph.D., dean of the School of Arts & Science and professor of biology; Benjamin Gaines, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics; Margaret Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics education; Dennis Gunn, Ph.D., CFC, ’93, assistant professor of education; and WCC’s Stergios Bibis, Ph.D.

“The faculty in Iona’s departments of Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Mathematics & Physics and Education, as well as our partners at SUNY Westchester, are ready to work to increase the number of STEM majors in the pipeline of future teachers,” Kristian said. “Thank you to the National Science Foundation for recognizing and supporting this important need. Teachers with strong content preparation and the skills and mindset required to persist will help address the STEM teacher shortage in New York State. We look forward to welcoming the first cohort of INSTRUCT scholars in the Fall 2023 semester.”