UWF awarded $2 million NSF grant to support STEM students

The University of West Florida has received a $2 million, six-year National Science Foundation S-STEM Track 2: Implementation grant to support academically talented, financially disadvantaged students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The award will provide scholarships to 38 Pell-eligible STEM students while embedding expanded mental health resources within the existing STEM Living Learning Community.

The project, led by Dr. Karen Molek, professor of chemistry and associate vice president of Computational Intelligence and Student Scholars Programs, builds on UWF's 14-year history of successful STEM Scholars programming and lessons learned from a previous NSF S-STEM award. The initiative integrates academic, social and emotional support to strengthen student resilience, persistence and graduation outcomes.

"We are thrilled to receive another six years of NSF funding to expand our support for STEM students," Molek said. "This funding will create a seamless partnership with Counseling and Psychological Services, adding a layer of professional and peer support to our existing successful STEM Living Learning Community in partnership with Housing and Residence Life and the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering. It's impossible for students to focus on learning if they aren't sure how they will afford their next meal or aren't connected to the resources readily available on campus. Deploying resources strategically will help mitigate financial and mental health barriers while strengthening student resilience and persistence through graduation."

Through the grant, UWF will award scholarships to two cohorts of first-time-in-college Pell-eligible STEM students and provide six years of comprehensive support. The program expands the four-year STEM for Life Seminar Series with a focus on resilience and mental health, implements peer mentoring in the STEM Living Learning Community and embeds a staff member in the residence hall in partnership with UWF Counseling and Psychological Services to provide preventative and just-in-time mental health support. The project will also examine the impact of embedded support and peer mentoring on student well-being and retention.

"This sizable grant is befitting the various efforts led by Dr. Molek and her team in supporting academically talented but financially disadvantaged students," said Dr. Mohamed Khabou, dean of UWF's Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering. "These efforts have had an impressive effect on students, including outstanding on-time graduation rates and acceptance into prestigious graduate and professional schools."

As the region's only four-year university in a county where 74% of students are first-generation college students, UWF plays a critical role in expanding access to high-impact STEM education. By integrating destigmatized mental health resources with structured academic support, the Resilient STEM Students Program aims to strengthen the pipeline of prepared graduates ready to meet growing regional and national workforce demands.

The new knowledge generated from this program will be shared via national conferences and journals in student affairs, housing and residence life, and national counseling to inform the creation of scalable mental health programming that increases the retention and graduation rates of Pell-eligible students in STEM fields.

For more information about the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering, visit uwf.edu/hmcse. For more information about UWF's Living Learning Communities, visit uwf.edu/livinglearning.