{"id":50381,"date":"2026-09-02T09:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/?p=50381"},"modified":"2026-09-02T09:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:26:20","slug":"federal-grants-are-supporting-new-generations-of-stem-scholars-and-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/02\/federal-grants-are-supporting-new-generations-of-stem-scholars-and-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Grants Are Supporting New Generations of STEM Scholars and Teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For the last several years, Bemidji State University has been leading several projects to increase participation in science, engineering, technology and mathematics-related fields funded by federal grants, and all have shown remarkable levels of success.<\/p>\n<p>The programs, both funded by the National Science Foundation, are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program provides funding for scholarships, stipends and program development and support to help recruit and prepare future K-12 STEM teachers, specifically to increase the number of teachers with strong STEM content knowledge in high-need school districts.<\/li>\n<li>The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program helps colleges and universities provide scholarships for academically talented, low-income STEM majors and to study and implement a program of activities that support their recruitment, retention and graduation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program<\/h2>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/Noyce-scholars-25-26-outdoors-1080p.jpg\" alt=\"BSU's Noyce scholars pose outdoors during a snowshoeing activity during the 2025-26 school year.\" width=\"100%\" data-caption=\"Noyce scholars pose outdoors during a snowshoeing activity during the 2025-26 school year.\" class=\"img-fluid\"><figcaption>Noyce scholars pose outdoors during a snowshoeing activity during the 2025-26 school year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a 2016 report, Minnesota&rsquo;s Education Policy Innovation Center said that chemistry, mathematics and physics classrooms were among the 10 most challenging teaching positions for the state&rsquo;s school districts to fill. According to that report, more than 20 percent of districts ranked teaching openings in these three subjects as &ldquo;impossible&rdquo; or &ldquo;very difficult&rdquo; to fill. With support from the Noyce program, BSU stepped in to help address those challenges.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to providing students with scholarships covering the full cost of attendance &mdash; including a living stipend &mdash; BSU&rsquo;s Noyce projects supplement its standard teacher-training curriculum with social-emotional learning training in partnership with a community non-profit organization. That additional training helps new classroom teachers develop strategies for building positive relationships with their students.<\/p>\n<p>BSU has hosted Noyce projects since 2020. The first project completed its six-year grant period in June 2026, and a second project is underway with its first cohort of students on campus this fall.<\/p>\n<p>The first project, led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/directory\/facstaff\/todd-frauenholtz\/\">Dr. Todd Frauenholtz<\/a>, professor, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/directory\/facstaff\/jenna-odell\/\">Dr. Jenna O&rsquo;Dell<\/a>, associate professor, both in BSU&rsquo;s mathematics program, successfully focused on training highly skilled mathematics teachers.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the program also generated new scholarship related to recruiting, training and supporting STEM teachers in high-need districts. During the grant period, BSU students and faculty produced two published papers and delivered 30 presentations on their work with the project.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A significant impact of this project has been faculty attending the social-emotional learning training with our undergraduate students,&rdquo; Frauenholtz said. &ldquo;This training means our faculty can integrate these strategies into our STEM classrooms for the rest of our careers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>BSU&rsquo;s second Noyce project is led by O&rsquo;Dell and Frauenholtz with support from Dr. Holly LaFerriere, professor of biology, and Dr. Rebecca Hoffman, professor of social work. Its first cohort of 10 students started classes this fall. This new project also adds partnerships with Red Lake Nation College and Minnesota North College to support students who transition to BSU after completing a two-year degree at those institutions.<\/p>\n<p>BSU&rsquo;s current $1.26 million grant is expected to fund its Noyce project through September 30, 2029.<\/p>\n<h3>Learn more<\/h3>\n<p>Learn more about Bemidji State University&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/offices\/teacher-education\/programs\/math-education\/\">mathematics education program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>S-STEM Program<\/h2>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/S-STEM-fireplace-2026-1080p.jpg\" alt=\"BSU's 2026-27 S-STEM scholars pose for a group photo in front of BSU's iconic outdoor lakeside fireplace.\" width=\"100%\" data-caption=\"BSU's 2026-27 S-STEM scholars pose for a group photo in front of BSU's iconic outdoor lakeside fireplace.\" class=\"img-fluid\"><figcaption>BSU&rsquo;s 2026-27 S-STEM scholars pose for a group photo in front of BSU&rsquo;s iconic outdoor lakeside fireplace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>BSU has completed the third year of its six-year NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program, which has helped scholars stay in school and succeed in their studies.<\/p>\n<p>Through the program&rsquo;s first three years, nearly 90% of participants have remained in their STEM programs &mdash; regardless of whether they remain eligible for the scholarship program. Participants also have an average GPA of 3.5.<\/p>\n<p>BSU&rsquo;s STEM scholars have significantly increased their participation in research, professional conferences and internships, as well. During the 2025-26 academic year alone, internship participation has increased tenfold and 10 scholars attended professional conferences. Of that group, six presented at a total of 13 national, regional and local conferences. Seven participants attended the annual national meeting of STEM scholars in October 2025, and nine are planning to attend this year&rsquo;s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Students have consistently reported that financial support and relationships with peers, faculty and staff were the strongest contributors to their success and persistence,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/directory\/facstaff\/katie-peterson\/\">Dr. Katie Peterson<\/a>, professor of chemistry and the project&rsquo;s lead, said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve built a program that is helping low-income students persist, graduate and prepare for careers in STEM.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Like the Noyce projects, lessons learned and skills gained from the S-STEM program are paying dividends in ways that will outlive its grant funding. The program has refined and expanded its Kickstart Week program that takes place prior to BSU&rsquo;s Orientation &amp; Welcome Week each fall, using those activities to promote belonging and college readiness. That work is creating a model that could be adopted by other programs, and BSU will share a report on its success during the October national meeting in Washington, D.C. In addition, the program has delivered five professional development workshops for BSU faculty focused on equitable, evidence-based STEM teaching practices. This program also has collaborated with Peacemaker Resources to help scholars build collaboration, adaptability, communication and stress-management skills valued by STEM employers.<\/p>\n<p>BSU&rsquo;s S-STEM program is led by Peterson, and her co-leads on the project are Frauenholtz, Dr. Hillary Barron, associate professor of biology, and Dr. Rebecca Hoffman, associate professor of social work.<\/p>\n<p>BSU&rsquo;s current $2.5 million grant will fund the S-STEM program through July 31, 2029.<\/p>\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<p>Bemidji State University&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/mybsu\/finances\/aid\/scholarships\/s-stem-scholarship\/\">S-STEM Scholars program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Exceeding Expectations<\/h2>\n<p>Both programs have also exceeded the number of students they expected to support when they were launched:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>BSU&rsquo;s Noyce program was funded with a three-year goal of recruiting and training 16 new STEM teachers. BSU exceeded that goal, with 20 new licensed teachers for mathematics and science working in Minnesota classrooms.<\/li>\n<li>Since BSU&rsquo;s S-STEM project began, the program has supported 48 scholars and has commitments for 12 new students for Fall 2026, for a total of 60. BSU&rsquo;s goal for the entire six-year program was to support 55 scholars.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both programs have also spent more of their funding on direct student support than the minimum required by the federal grant programs.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is important work that our faculty are doing to increase opportunity, foster belonging and support student success,&rdquo; said Dr. Marah Jacobson, BSU provost and vice president for academic affairs. &ldquo;The results speak for themselves, but I also recognize that achievements like these do not happen without tremendous dedication behind the scenes. These programs are making a meaningful and lasting difference in the lives of our students.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noyce and Scholarships in STEM projects at BSU have exceeded expectations for student support and new-teacher training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":50390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,872,1027,980,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-homepage","category-professional-education","category-strategic-plan","category-top-story"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50381"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50395,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50381\/revisions\/50395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}