<br/>Initiated in 2018, the Willamette STEM Fellows Program was initially funded through an NSF S-STEM grant and has since garnered substantial institutional support and investment. The program supports students throughout the sciences through four years of structured co-curricular support including first-semester living-learning communities, weekly cohort-specific classes for the first two years, dedicated secondary and tertiary advisors, funded research opportunities, leadership development, and individualized career planning as well as gap-filling scholarships. One particular focus has been the introduction of Embedded Tutors (Supplemental Instruction) to help improve student retention through classes often perceived as barriers to success in STEM fields (like General Chemistry and General Physics). This model has since been expanded across all classes in the Chemistry department, the three lower-level physics courses, and is used increasingly institution wide. Following the graduation of our first cohort of students in Spring 2022, we will present an overview of our successes and challenges including alterations made to our program moving forward.

Willamette STEM fellows: Co-curricular support structures for improving retention of underserved students

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.