Congresswoman Lowey Announces $1.4 Million in Funding for Mercy College

Federal Award Will Support Scholarship Program for Training Middle School and High School Science Teachers

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland), the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,447,827 in National Science Foundation funding for Mercy College. The funding will support the development and launch of the “Mercy Intensive STEM Teacher Initiative” (MISTI), a five-year program that provides scholarships for students to receive training in teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the middle school and high school levels. 

The program will train 20 prospective math and science teachers who are pursuing degrees in biology or mathematics, a Masters in Adolescence Education, and a New York State teaching certification. Students who receive a scholarship as part of MISTI will attend STEM Summer Immersion Camps at the end of their freshman and sophomore years. Students in their junior and senior years will receive an introduction to teaching that features classroom observations, peer teaching, pedagogical seminars, workshop development and presentation at the Mercy College Parent Center. The program culminates in a full-year clinical residency in high-need middle and high schools.

Mercy College is partnering on the initiative with Yonkers Public Schools, the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Ossining Public Schools, Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx, Westchester Community College, Bronx Community College, and Rockland Community College.

“Students with a background in the STEM fields are well prepared for the needs of tomorrow’s workforce and well positioned to compete in the global economy,” said Congresswoman Lowey. “As the demand for students with a background in STEM continues to grow, so does the need the for world-class STEM educators. This important federal investment in Mercy College will help ensure that the next generation of those educators are being trained right here in the Lower Hudson Valley.”

“This is a wonderful achievement for Mercy College.  This demonstrates the value of collaboration, and how collaboration can be used to advance education,” said Dr. Concetta M. Stewart, Interim President of Mercy College.  “We need to focus on training new STEM teachers.  Educators need to make sure that we are fostering these subjects and giving them the respect that they long deserved.”

Every summer, Mercy hosts its “Step Up to STEM” camp, an innovative, free program supporting local low-income high school and college students pursuing degrees in the STEM fields. The focus of this summer’s program was on disaster preparedness. Click here to read more about Congresswoman Lowey’s visit to the camp earlier this summer.

In 2011, Congresswoman Lowey announced a $788,000 federal grant for Mercy College to support the teaching of STEM programs.

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