The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) has received a $1 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to support UVI students who wish to pursue a master’s in Marine and Environmental Science at UVI and to secure workforce positions in marine and environmental science in the territory. The award, entitled, Securing STEM Island Pathways, is led by Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes, research assistant professor in UVI’s Center for Marine and Environmental Studies and Dr. Lawanda Cummings, STEM education director for the Virgin Islands Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI EPSCoR). It builds on past investments in the territory by the NSF, including the NSF INCLUDES SEAS Islands Alliance, VI EPSCoR’s Ridge to Reef: Processes and Interdependent Drivers of Small Island Resilience, and the Florida-Caribbean Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence.
Over four years, Securing STEM Island Pathways will support 13 post-degree recipients in graduate school at UVI and local workforce positions. Graduate students will receive tuition, fees, and a graduate research assistantship stipend, plus additional mentoring and other non-financial supports. Those entering the workforce will have the opportunity to gain experience in either 8-week or year-long positions. Year-long positions are salaried and receive full benefits. Past workforce fellows have been placed with territorial partners (Department of Planning & Natural Resources, Divisions of Coastal Zone Management and Fish & Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy) on both St. Thomas and St. Croix.
More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI Website-www.uvi.edu/ - and from this direct link.