UT-NIMBioS STEM Alliance

Objectives: The UT-NIMBioS STEM Alliance aims to improve the success of students with disabilities in the STEM disciplines. The UT-NIMBioS STEM Alliance provides scholarship funds to its students and also holds regular meetings throughout the semester on professional development topics, such as careers, resume writing, mentorship, graduate schools and internships. The group also holds informal gatherings to share ideas and provide support. New students are accepted each semester.

The STEM Alliance is part of the South East Alliance for Persons with Disabilities in STEM (SEAPD-STEM) program, a network of education institutions in the southeastern US and Washington, DC with a goal to significantly advance a collaborative approach to improve the success of students with disabilities in the STEM disciplines.

The goals of SEAPD-STEM are:

1. Increase the quality and quantity of persons with disabilities completing associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in STEM disciplines and entering the STEM workforce, especially among minorities, veterans, and women.
2. Increase the quality and quantity of post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty with disabilities in STEM fields.
3. Improve academic performance of students with disabilities in secondary level science and mathematics courses.
4. Enhance communication and collaboration among post-secondary institutions, industry, government, national labs, and community in addressing the education of students with disabilities in STEM discipline.
5. Assess our activities to understand what works to support the matriculation and retention of STEM students with disabilities in science followed by broad dissemination through workshops, conference presentations, webinars, and peer-reviewed publications.

Funding: SEAPD-STEM is funded by the National Science Foundation's INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) program, a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations focused on NSF's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and broadening participation in these fields.

Background: SEAPD-STEM builds on the success of the Alabama Alliance for Students with Disabilities in STEM (AASD-STEM), an NSF-funded collaboration between Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, Alabama State University, Tuskegee University, and Southern Union State Community College. Over the past seven years, AASD-STEM has provided academic and social support for over 200 students with disabilities in STEM majors through peer and faculty mentoring, research internships, group meetings, annual conferences, and student support organizations. SEAPD-STEM increases the reach of AASD-STEM by adding an additional 16 institutions to the program, for a total of 21 participating colleges and universities in six states and Washington, D.C.

Related Blog Posts

• Students with Disabilities Reach Out to High Schoolers
• NIMBioS-UT Partner to Help Students With Disabilities
• Workshop: Transitions for STEM Students with Disabilities, Nov. 28, 2017

For more information about the UT-NIMBioS program and how to apply, contact Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director of Education & Outreach (slenhart@tennessee.edu) or David Ndiaye, Assistant Director, UT Office of Student Disability Services (david@utk.edu).

NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-3410
PH: (865) 974-9334
FAX: (865) 974-9461
Contact NIMBioS

From 2008 until early 2021, NIMBioS was supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF Award #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.