BOARD # 405: NSF HBCU-UP: STEM Academy for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Walter C. Lee; David B Knight

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session II
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 6
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55781
Download Count: 1

Paper Authors

biography

Walter C. Lee Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0001-5082-1411

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Dr. Walter Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Education and the director for research at the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED), both at Virginia Tech.

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biography

David B Knight Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0003-4576-2490

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David Knight is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and also serves as Chief of Strategy in the College of Engineering and Special Assistant to the Provost. His research tends to be at the macro-scale, focused on a systems-level perspective of how engineering education can become more effective, efficient, and inclusive, and considers the intersection between policy and organizational contexts. Knight currently serves as the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Engineering Education.

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Abstract

The STEM Academy for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff integrates engineering, science, and business disciplines to fast-track the number of STEM graduates who attend graduate school or enter STEM entrepreneurship. In our poster, we will report on the research strand of the project. Guided by the theory of socialization and exposure, our research was scoped under the assumption that activities in which students participate, such as opportunities to engage with role models, would ultimately help them successfully and efficiently progress through their programs and earn a STEM bachelor’s degree. Our research also draws on the Model of Co-Curricular Supports as an organizing framework, which holistically considers the range of different kinds of support that students need to be successful. Applying that model within an HBCU represents a new contextual operationalization. Thus, the purpose of the research is to identify programmatic elements that foster greater success in STEM undergraduate education at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), with a particular focus on interest in graduate school and entrepreneurship. The research goals are to identify the programmatic elements that support the following latent variables: (1) students’ self-confidence in their STEM-related skills (i.e., math and science skills; professional and interpersonal skills; problem-solving skills); (2) students’ entrepreneurial intents; (3) students’ self-efficacy pertaining to a potential future in graduate school; and (4) students’ career goals.

Our research to date has focused on administering a survey instrument within the STEM programs at UAPB in two different years. This instrument is comprised of scales and items that were developed in prior STEM-focused projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Scales have established reliabilities, and items have undergone extensive piloting and testing in that prior work. Our poster will present findings from these two different cohorts and identify preliminary relationships between programmatic supports and outcomes.

Program funding the work: HBCU-UP

Acknowledgements: This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation (EES-2106350). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.

Citation
Format

Lee, W. C., & Knight, D. B. (2025, June), BOARD # 405: NSF HBCU-UP: STEM Academy for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55781

TY - CPAPER
AB - The STEM Academy for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff integrates engineering, science, and business disciplines to fast-track the number of STEM graduates who attend graduate school or enter STEM entrepreneurship. In our poster, we will report on the research strand of the project. Guided by the theory of socialization and exposure, our research was scoped under the assumption that activities in which students participate, such as opportunities to engage with role models, would ultimately help them successfully and efficiently progress through their programs and earn a STEM bachelor’s degree. Our research also draws on the Model of Co-Curricular Supports as an organizing framework, which holistically considers the range of different kinds of support that students need to be successful. Applying that model within an HBCU represents a new contextual operationalization. Thus, the purpose of the research is to identify programmatic elements that foster greater success in STEM undergraduate education at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), with a particular focus on interest in graduate school and entrepreneurship. The research goals are to identify the programmatic elements that support the following latent variables: (1) students’ self-confidence in their STEM-related skills (i.e., math and science skills; professional and interpersonal skills; problem-solving skills); (2) students’ entrepreneurial intents; (3) students’ self-efficacy pertaining to a potential future in graduate school; and (4) students’ career goals.

Our research to date has focused on administering a survey instrument within the STEM programs at UAPB in two different years. This instrument is comprised of scales and items that were developed in prior STEM-focused projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Scales have established reliabilities, and items have undergone extensive piloting and testing in that prior work. Our poster will present findings from these two different cohorts and identify preliminary relationships between programmatic supports and outcomes.

Program funding the work: HBCU-UP

Acknowledgements: This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation (EES-2106350). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.

AU - Walter C. Lee
AU - David B Knight
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - BOARD # 405: NSF HBCU-UP: STEM Academy for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
UR - https://peer.asee.org/55781
ER -