Buffalo, NY – Canisius University is the recipient of a three-year, $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will fund Connect Four, an initiative aimed at strengthening connections and collaborations between higher education and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) industry to address the critical shortage of STEM professionals in the United States.
“Most available estimates predict a STEM worker shortfall in the U.S. ranging between a few hundred thousand and several million workers,” says Justin Del Vecchio, PhD, cybersecurity program director and principal investigator on the project. “This grant provides a tremendous opportunity for Canisius to ensure that what we teach in the classroom aligns with what is needed in the real world.”
Del Vecchio explains that Canisius will collaborate on the Connect Four project with Albion College, Northwest Arkansas Community College and Roanoke College to achieve four key aims:
• Build stronger partnerships with local businesses, non-profits, government agencies and other educational institutions
• Prepare faculty to better understand and teach the skills needed in today’s workforce
• Improve communication between the university and critical stakeholder groups including potential student employers
• Create a sustainable and repeatable model for collaboration that can be used long-term
To achieve these goals, each institution participating in the Connect Four project will establish new administrative capacities to manage partnerships with external organizations; increase faculty involvement in projects with external partners; and create resources for sustainable collaborations with those external partnerships. The initiative will similarly address common barriers such as limited faculty experience, high teaching loads and lack of familiarity with regional workforce needs through professional development, structured outreach and the NSF’s EPIIC (Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity) program.
“This NSF grant enables Canisius to create a bridge between what students learn in the classroom and what businesses actually need,” adds Joe Delap, PhD, interim vice president for academic affairs. “It will help us improve how students are prepared for STEM careers, train our professors to better understand current industry requirements, and strengthen ties with our regional partners so that we may contribute to the long-term economic development of our region.”
In addition to principal investigator Justin Del Vecchio, Michael Wood, Canisius professor and chair of physics, and Phillip Sheridan, PhD, Canisius professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry, are co-principal investigators on the grant. Heather Campbell, director of the Canisius Center for Analytics and Data Ecosystems (CCADE) is also a partner on the Connect Four initiative. CCADE provides interdisciplinary education and expertise in data analytics, business analytics and cybersecurity to address real-world challenges across multiple industries.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
