The last issue of Business Lexington laid out impressive figures regarding projected opportunities (read as "increasing need") and average salaries for STEM graduates. If your head was not turned, it should have been. While regional efforts are afoot to encourage more students to pursue STEM fields, these efforts could surely benefit from broader support and participation. Read on if you'd like to learn about those that seem to have the greatest odds of making a significant impact, and think about how you might influence young people around you as they ponder their future options.
Lexington First (scholarships for STEM studies)
If Mayor Newberry's proposal is approved, Fayette County students pursuing post-secondary studies in STEM fields could apply for Lexington First funding if other sources of financial aid are insufficient and if they attend an institution within one hour of Lexington. I support the funding mission wholeheartedly; this would be an enormously valuable investment. And I am all for the financial design of his proposal: this is called "last dollar" financial aid, aimed at preventing students with unmet financial need from viewing higher education as unattainable due to cost.
However, I'd like to see supporting details of the proposal tweaked in two ways. First, let's eliminate the proposed geographic restriction on place of study. If a talented student had the chance to attend MIT or Cal Tech, would we want to constrain that choice? As long as that student returns to Fayette County to contribute to our local economy after graduating, with no disrespect meant to our esteemed local institutions, let's encourage enrollment at the college offering the best intellectual and personal match.
My greater concern is that the proposal currently has no expectation for residency in our region after studies are concluded. If the point of Newberry's proposal is to create a workforce with greater numbers of STEM-educated individuals, which may in turn attract more scientific, engineering and technology companies to consider Lexington as a business base, let's make it happen. We need not worry about constraining college graduates' employment options after we've invested in them. If they cannot find suitable employment locally, the post-graduate residency expectation could be waived, if students repay the funds provided them for their studies. Given the taxpayer funding at stake and our goal of strengthening the local economy by creating a larger STEM employee pool, it seems foolish not to include such a residency provision, especially if a reasonable waiver clause is developed.
These thoughts notwithstanding, I hope taxpayers will see the value of the mayor's proposal and rally behind it. An investment in education now will surely reap economic benefits in the future.
Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science
A new academy in western Kentucky is a prime example of this investment philosophy. Based at Western Kentucky University, Gatton Academy is a state-funded boarding school for gifted high school juniors and seniors ready to plunge into highly challenging studies in math and science. In two years, Gatton graduates will have completed high school and accumulated two years worth of college credit, thus accelerating their path through college if they choose to utilize the credit. The program also ensures that all students enrolled have opportunities to participate in scientific research projects during their two-year experience.
Gifted math and science students in Fayette County may already be enrolled in our outstanding Math, Science and Technology magnet program at Dunbar High School. Or they may be taking advantage of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate coursework that challenges them to the max. But for those who crave added challenges and opportunities in the sciences, and whose achievements are outstanding, Gatton is a wonderful option.
Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership
Parents, if you prefer to keep your children and your energies focused closer at hand, perhaps you'll be interested in the upcoming Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, which can teach you how to become a highly effective advocate for enhanced math and science education in your local schools. The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has offered a number of such Institutes over the last decade. This special STEM-focused institute is possible in large part because of a grant from the AT&T Foundation, and will benefit schools and communities throughout the Commonwealth.
Parting thoughts
All of these efforts point to the same thing: a significant need for more students who can populate a better trained workforce in science, technology, engineering and math. Academic training in these fields can serve as a platform for success in many arenas. A successful businesswoman in the plastics industry, educated as an engineer, remarked to me that she could not have attained her management position with a pure business background; it is because of her technical training that she is able to understand the work her employees are doing and manage it effectively. Fayette County tax rolls benefit from such highly educated, high income residents, and regional efforts under way can create greater numbers of tax-paying citizens like her.
To re-read Business Lexington's May 3 statistics about salaries and projected growth, click here.