Post-Secondary Support

A focus on STEM education

SFA is dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics education – and we created our STEM Research and Learning Center to educate, train and inspire the next generation of STEM students and teachers. With a focus on interdisciplinary research, the center is committed to increasing STEM awareness, enhancing its public perception and facilitating innovation in STEM university education.

The STEM Research and Learning Center empowers STEM educators and aspiring educators to transform their districts by funding trips to conferences including: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers, Texas Undergraduate Math Conference, Texas Academy of Science and the Noyce Learner Networker Conference in Washington D.C.

The STEM Center is committed to a focus on interdisciplinary research, increasing STEM awareness and public perception, facilitating innovation in STEM university education, and empowering STEM teachers and leaders to transform their districts.

Business and Industry Speaker Series

Organized by the College of Sciences and Mathematics, the STEM Business and Industry Speaker Series aims to connect students with STEM professionals and give them a behind-the-scenes look into their future careers.

The monthly events feature a joint presentation by a business or industry professional and an SFA STEM student. Business or industry speakers discuss why their particular background in STEM is important to their company or organization. STEM students share how and why they became interested in their STEM discipline, what drew them to SFA, and what they look forward to as they enter their careers.

Past STEM business and industry speakers have included:

• SFA student Sam Jentsch, dual computer science and mathematics major, who began working for Google after graduation in May 2017, co-presented with Industry Leader, Adam Schlesinger, who leads numerous projects at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 
• SFA student Brooke Busbee, mathematics graduate student, co-presented with Kristi Owens, SFA mathematics alumna and vice president and wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch.
• SFA student Marlon Walls, engineering physics major who holds a 4.0 GPA and plays football for the Lumberjacks, co-presented with Dr. Scott Coleman, former SFA Regent and owner of Coleman Dental.

Talented Teachers in Training for Texas Program

Talented Teachers in Training for Texas is designed to increase STEM teaching capacity and study the development of a research-based model for strengthening the STEM teacher pipeline. Visit the T4 webpage to learn more about getting a firsthand look at life in the classroom by shadowing an experienced classroom teacher.