STEM funding was released recently to Kentucky State University to help the college aid the black students to pursue their senior high school.
Apparently, Kentucky State University received $400,000 from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, a North Carolina-based foundation for The Campaign for Black Male Achievement. This is to provide for their efforts in recruiting more STEM black male student enrollees.
The university aims to make students include STEM-science, technology, engineering and mathematics in their top choices. Dr. Ron Chi, chief academic officer of the program, said that the program wants students to have something uniquely theirs that is credentialed as well.
This is because the sad truth remains that it is not easy for African Americans to find jobs even those with STEM degrees. Wider job opportunities are given to white graduates.
As per the data gathered by the Kentucky State Data Center, out of the 77,000 STEM field-workers in the whole of Kentucky, only 2.7% are black. Out of the wider range of 214,000 jobs in Kentucky, including in the healthcare field, 6.7% are known to be from the African Americans.
However, he clarified that although the university was known to be historically a black university and the program mainly intended for black male students, STEM funding release will not only for the black students but the program is to benefit students of all colors, News One reported.
Educators believe that equipping the students through this STEM fund release is a way to decrease the unemployment rate and increase the average income.
Chris Bollinger, University of Kentucky economics professor understands that a college degree is important to attract high-tech companies. The graduates must be ready to keep pace with the vast development of technology.
He believes that workers with college degrees tend to adapt easily and upgrade themselves as the demand for changes in the nature of workforce come, WFPL News reported.
Here is a quick preview of what is STEM education.
