Pennsylvania STEM Initiative Overview
Saint Francis University is a leader in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s STEM Center Initiative. The focus of the Pennsylvania STEM Initiative is on the development of regional networks of organizations interested in promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in education and the workforce. Fr. Gabriel Zeis, TOR, SFU President, serves on the PA STEM Initiative’s Leadership Team, and Allison Felix, Director of SFU’s Science Outreach Center, serves on the PA STEM Initiative Design Team and as the Regional Lead for the Central Pennsylvania STEM Network. The Central Pennsylvania STEM network consists of organizations from K-12 education, higher education, workforce development, business, and non-profit sectors located in a thirty-two county region in Central Pennsylvania. The Central PA STEM Network is by far the largest of the five STEM networks that have been established across the Commonwealth, and is made up of 32 counties, 6 Workforce Investment Boards, 178 public school districts, and a geography that spans the entire center of the state between New York and Maryland.
In order to effectively build the system, facilitate communication, and build a foundation for sustainability, four sub-regions have been established with core points of contact who are working closely on establishing the network, disseminating information, and completing the program deliverables. Regional STEM champions from K-12 education, higher education, business, and workforce development sectors are being invited to join the effort by signing the Central PA STEM Initiative Compact.
Ultimately, the work that we are leading in the Central Region will allow us to develop tools such as an economic gap analysis focusing on STEM, an asset map of STEM programs and facilities, and a communications plan that will lead to the development of strategies that are focused on the needs of the region and making connections between the resources that are in place. The focus of the effort is on collaboration rather than competition, building a system between organizations with STEM-focused programs and making the much-needed connections between the many resources that are already in place.
The vision in our long-term ten year plan is to ensure that industries in the Central Region are competitive in the global marketplace and that people in the Central Region have the skills necessary to work in the technologically-challenging occupations that companies demand. In order to do so, the Central STEM Region will work to develop relevant, effective, and systemic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics efforts aligned with K-12 education, higher education, and workforce development.
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