R-STEM office promotes K-12 outreach

By Sana Yaklur     10/28/14 4:22pm

Rice recently established the Rice Office of STEM Engagement, abbreviated R-STEM, in order to coordinate all the science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach efforts at the university, according to Director Carolyn Nichol.

“The office will serve as a main source for people to go to if they have questions about STEM outreach at Rice, because there are quite a lot of different ones distributed throughout campus,” Nichol said. “We can help people with their outreach efforts by, for instance, telling them what forms they need to fill out or supporting their efforts with funding.”

According to Nichol, the office will help faculty by recruiting students for outreach programs that are required by their grant proposals. R-STEM will also help undergraduates who wish to reach outside the hedges and increase K-12 students’ interest in STEM fields. 

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R-STEM also hopes to ensure that the undergraduates’ teaching relates to what the students are learning in class. 

“R-STEM will work with school districts and teachers in the Houston area, as well as Rice faculty and students,” Nichol said.

According to Nichol, the office will serve K-12 teachers and school districts by working with them to improve their STEM education. The office will also serve as a point of contact between faculty and school districts to streamline the process of creating STEM programs.

Additionally, R-STEM will help nonprofit organizations, such as Project Grad, Genesis Works and Houston A+ Challenge, as well as  connect with Rice undergraduates to help students in the greater community. 

Many of these nonprofits seek to help potential first generation college students gain an interest in continuing their education by showing them the opportunities that are available to them in STEM fields, according to Nichol. 

According to Vice Provost of Research Yousif Shamoo, the impact R-STEM will have is two-fold; it will help faculty with obtaining funding for their research by helping them satisfy their grant proposals’ requirements for broad impact STEM programs and will help increase Rice’s impact on the greater community.

Rice has a large impact on the community for a school of its size, Nichol said. 

“We have so many people with great hearts who share their knowledge with the greater community,” Nichol said.

According to Nichol, many of Rice’s faculty are involved with STEM outreach. For example, once a week, biochemistry and cell biology professors Elizabeth Eich and Beth Beason-Abmayr teach high school biology teachers engaging teaching strategies. Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson teaches high school chemistry teachers, and physics professor Jason Hafner teaches high school physics teachers. Additionally, Rice faculty and teachers who are involved in ConocoPhillips Rice Elementary Model Science Lab teach elementary school teachers nontraditional and engaging educating methods.

Former Vice Provost of Research Vicki Colvin suggested that a central office for STEM outreach programs be created. This streamlined the process of creating outreach programs. Students and faculty who wish to establish these programs can now learn how to design and start these programs through the central office. 

Nichol said she believes STEM outreach is crucial for Rice and for the greater Houston community.

“A lot of students, especially inner-city students, don’t have role models or mentors and don’t know what the possibilities are in STEM careers,” Nichol said. “These students don’t see all of the opportunities that could be available to them if they get science or engineering degrees. We want to engage them at young ages and help them become the science and engineering leaders of the future.”

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