Grants to Help Towson U. Boost STEM Education

was awarded $2 million in grants this week to create a new model for science, technology, engineering and math education, the university announced.

The grants—$680,000 in federal dollars from the National Math and Science Initiative and $1.33 million from the Maryland State Department of Education (via federal Race to the Top funding)—will fund Towson UTeach, a program modeled after the UTeach program established at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 and now used by 29 universities nationwide.

The program focuses on improving teacher quality and drawing students in STEM majors to pursue education careers.

“Towson is honored to be the first university in Maryland to be approved and funded to prepare teachers using the successful UTeach model,” Towson University President Maravene Loeschke said in a statement. “This grant will help boost Towson’s role in educating both STEM graduates and highly qualified STEM educators.”

This week, Towson will graduate 250 STEM majors, including 40 teachers.

In March, Towson as the university's presidential scholar for innovation and teacher education, with an emphasis on STEM education.

“In order for the United States to be competitive in the future, there is an urgent need for Americans to be engaged in STEM careers,” Grasmick said in a statement. “It is imperative that the pipeline of students with the prerequisite skills for these careers begin in PreK-12 schools. Well-prepared teachers are critical to achieving this goal and no program is more effective at this preparation than UTeach.”

In addition to the grants, the university said that the University System of Maryland has pledged $300,000 annual funding for the UTeach program starting with its fiscal year 2014 budget.