Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM)

California State University Sacramento (Sacramento State) has launched the Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Excellence as part of our STEM Initiative. Sacramento State is the seventh largest campus in the twenty-three campus California State University (CSU) system, the largest University system in the world. Sacramento State serves more than twenty-seven thousand students, of which approximately one-third are enrolled in STEM disciplines. The goals of the STEM Initiative and the Center for STEM Excellence are to develop and implement a unified regional plan for strengthening the quality of STEM education in the Sacramento region, recruiting student, staff and faculty populations that better reflect the diversity of California, increasing the number of students graduating in STEM to meet local and national workforce needs, and increasing the capacity of the region to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in STEM.

Through the Center for STEM Excellence we are seeking to integrate our efforts with those of regional government, business, K-12, two-year and four-year Universities and the community to improve the physical and intellectual infrastructure of the Sacramento region, so that we may increase the number of students entering the science and technology workforce. We seek to pool the resources of Sacramento State, both human and monetary, with those available from external sources and organize our efforts to achieve real change. In many areas, we need only take advantage of the many individual and team efforts that have already been undertaken throughout the region. We believe that the coordination of these efforts through the STEM Initiative and the Center for STEM Excellence will allow us to make a resounding contribution to the national agenda for increasing the American science and technology workforce.

The Role of Sacramento State in Regional STEM Development
In the spring of 2004, President Alex Gonzalez and Sacramento State launched Destination 2010, a bold initiative to make our institution a premier metropolitan university and a destination campus for prospective students and employees throughout the West. The STEM Initiative is part of this grand vision. The STEM Initiative emphasizes capacity building activity as a foundation for delivering the above goals. Enhancing faculty and programmatic capacity will deliver a stronger educational infrastructure and support a more robust array of faculty research initiatives of applied interest to the region. This integration of recruitment, education, research and capacity building is key to advancing the STEM enterprise at Sacramento State for students and faculty.

Sacramento State, along with Linking Education with Economic Development (LEED) the Valley Vision Consortium, the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, the Workforce Development Group and the Sacramento Council of Education, are seeking to initiate a dialog among regional educators that will ultimately coordinate the STEM education of students in the Sacramento region. The Sacramento Region, Northern California and the United States have an increasingly unfilled need for highly trained college graduates in STEM. We are well positioned to initiate efforts that increase the number of US citizens pursuing science and engineering studies and careers.

Programs of the Sacramento State STEM Initiative
The STEM Initiative emphasizes capacity building activity as a foundation for delivering the above goals. Enhancing faculty and programmatic capacity will deliver a stronger educational infrastructure and support a more robust array of faculty research initiatives of applied interest to the region. This integration of education, research and capacity building is key to advancing the STEM enterprise at Sacramento State for students and faculty. The specific programs proposed by the STEM Initiative to reach these goals are described below. The Initiative is designed as an evolving, feedback-driven series of programs that relies on changing academic and industry needs to inform the University, the general public and the students who are training to enter the STEM workforce.

The STEM Disciplines at Sacramento State
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics have become such integral parts of our lives that, perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of Colleges on campus have Departments involved in STEM training. There are currently 23 Departments from 5 Colleges on the Sacramento State campus participating in the STEM Initiative, representing more than 9,000 students. Participants include each of the seven Departments from the College of Engineering and Computer Science, each of the six Departments from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the Departments of Bilingual/Multicultural Education and Teacher Education from the College of Education, the Departments of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Physical Therapy, Speech Pathology and Audiology, and Nursing from the College of Health and Human Services, and the Departments of Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Family and Consumer Sciences (Nutrition), Sociology and Psychology from the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. The STEM Initiative invites participation from all interested University parties.

The STEM Outreach Initiative
The Outreach Initiative is designed to increase STEM literacy and public awareness of STEM programs at Sacramento State, as well as to recruit students into STEM disciplines as a career choice. A very current public literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is an essential part of modern life, personally, economically and politically. The STEM Outreach Initiative will provide educational programs and community forums aimed at the general public, as well as students in K-12 schools and community colleges throughout the Sacramento region. Our goal is to educate and engage the region in STEM. This process involves public Seminar Series at multiple levels. Open discussion of issues of public concern, seminars for advanced students in specific disciplines, and student presentations. It also requires the marketing of STEM career training to prospective students in the form of presentations and advising at local K-12 and community colleges. A Summer Bridge Program for 100 under-represented STEM High School students is planned for summer 2007.

The STEM Academic Support Program
The objective of the Academic Support Program is to provide structured study and learning programs to all STEM majors that will increase both individual and program success, and reduce the time to graduation. This program will include Learning Communities across the STEM disciplines focused on success in introductory mathematics, chemistry and physics courses. The program will also coordinate tutoring for students by faculty, as well as by advanced students, and cooperative learning experiences that take the student outside of the traditional classroom.

The STEM Academic and Career Advising Program
The objective of the Academic and Career advising programs is to provide students with the necessary information needed to tailor their academic training to real career goals. The goal is to make advising mandatory and available to all STEM majors. The Program will provide trained advisors across all STEM disciplines, on-line interactive advising and answers to frequently asked questions. In addition we will marry career advising with alumni mentoring within the computer industry, biotechnology, engineering, basic and applied research and environmental technologies that are cornerstones of our unique regional economy. We also intend to coordinate student advising with the many K-12 districts in the region, the Los Rios, Sierra and Delta Community College Districts, the University of the Pacific and the University of California, Davis. Our goal is to open discussions between these groups and create a for the long-term commitment and improvement of STEM education throughout the region.

The STEM Assessment Program
A critical aspect to STEM training is the rapid technological advancement that occurs throughout the STEM disciplines. It is imperative that we continually assess all areas of the STEM Initiative. The objectives of the Assessment Program are periodic internal and external assessment of the all STEM programs, including academic programs, research education programs, student academic performance, student success in introductory science courses, student retention and time to degree, and post-baccalaureate placement in STEM industries. This assessment must be performed in conjunction with local industries, civic and academic institutions.

The STEM Academic Enhancement Program
In order to provide students with a state-of-the-art education we must make a commitment to infrastructure, faculty and curriculum development, as well as support for faculty and student participation in research. All of the STEM disciplines are at the forefront of a changing technological world. Our programs and facilities must keep pace with industry needs for student training. Assessment can and should lead to advancement of academic infrastructure. There are many areas in which STEM training can be improved. The following is one example of our commitment to keeping pace with the needs of the regional workforce.

STEM Web Site>