New Mexico EPSCoR and UNM Researchers Receive Grant to Research Indigenous-based STEM Education

The National Science Foundation has awarded researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM), New Mexico Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NM EPSCoR), and partner institutions a total of $739,619 in research grants to address the under-representation of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines and workforce.

The Cultivating Indigenous Research Communities for Leadership in Education and STEM (CIRCLES) Alliance builds on existing partnerships with tribal communities and tribal colleges in six states in the western half of the U.S. (New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) to develop a collective strategy for increasing the engagement, involvement, and success of AI/AN students in STEM.

Dr. Selena Connealy, Education and Outreach Manager for NM EPSCoR, will serve as Principal Investigator (PI) for the New Mexico portion of the Alliance, along-side Co-PI Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the UNM School of Architecture, Water, and Natural Resources.

“We are so pleased to be part of this Alliance along with our EPSCoR colleagues across the five other states. Here in New Mexico, this project will give us an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with AI/AN communities and also with the organizations and institutions that support AI/AN STEM education.”

Read the full story from New Mexico EPSCoR here.