College of Mount Saint Vincent Ranks Number One in the U.S. in Latino Success in Science Fields
1/11/2010
A recent study funded by the National Science Foundation shows the University of Mount Saint Vincent has the highest proportion of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees awarded to Latino students of any Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The College also ranked first among the 25 HSI’s identified in the study as models of effective practices. The College is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution.
The study from the University of Southern California’s Center for Urban Education is titled, “Benchmarking the Success of Latina and Latino Students in STEM to Achieve National Graduation Goals.” The report aims to identify colleges and universities that can serve as examples of best practices for increasing Latino achievement so that other institutions can look to them to benchmark successful programs.
The report compares the number of Latinos enrolled in STEM fields against the number of STEM degrees awarded at the institution. The College received the highest marks of any institution in that category. This type of performance standard can be used to set benchmarks for increasing the proportion of Latino STEM majors and graduates. Institutions can compare their own data to those of Mount Saint Vincent and other institutions in the best practices group, to gain an understanding of the improvements that are possible.
No other college or university within 1,300 miles was identified. At the end of the analysis, 25 institutions were selected as exemplary models. The College was listed first among other schools such as Florida International University, New Mexico State University.
Mount Saint Vincent President, Charles L. Flynn, Jr., said, “This report confirms what we know and we are very proud of it. Our faculty are extraordinary teachers and scholars and our very talented students thrive here and go on to nationally recognized careers in their fields. In recent years, faculty members in the sciences have received nationally competitive grants for scholarship and teaching from NIH, NSF, Department of Justice, Department of Education, and EPA. Students in biology, chemistry, and math regularly present at national and regional conferences.