CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A new partnership between the University of Chicago and the City Colleges aims to provide more opportunities for Black and Latino students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM fields.
The University of Chicago is helping to establish a new, two-year data science degree program at the City Colleges intended to benefit more minority students, who are under-represented in the growing STEM fields.
The University of Chicago is helping to develop the curriculum, while looking to address a shortage of faculty at the same time.
The partnership “provides an opportunity for us to deepen our engagement with more students across Chicago and to create more pathways for them into STEM careers. Our commitment to inquiry and innovation inspires us to help strengthen these fields by expanding the breadth of scholarly perspectives that advance them," said University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos, in a statement.
Recent PhD graduates in STEM fields, including data science, mathematics, statistics and computer science will be part of a teaching fellowship, expected to start in the 2022-2023 school year, working at both the City Colleges and the University of Chicago.
City Colleges students would benefit from internships and career opportunities; and those earning two-year degrees could have opportunities to continue their education at institutions like the University of Chicago.
Enrollment at the City Colleges is about 80,000 students, the majority of whom identify as Black or Latino, according to City Colleges' data.
“This relationship is about harnessing two of our city’s higher education assets to create unprecedented opportunities, and ultimately, a more inclusive economy,” said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado, in a statement. “With this collaboration agreement, we increase our capacity as an institution to be responsive to our community. We’ll not only create new pathways and internship opportunities for our students, but we’ll also build a pipeline of educators prepared to teach in new and emerging STEM fields. It promises to be transformative not only for our students but for our faculty—and for the students and faculty of the University of Chicago as well.”
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