Seton Hill University has been awarded a $2.16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education through its Title III Strengthening Institutions program.

The competitive grant will expand Seton Hill’s capacity to prepare graduates for high-demand careers in STEM and increase access and achievement of underprepared students in all programs of study. Funds will be used to develop new academic programming, engage students in high-tech science facilities, increase opportunities for undergraduate research, and enhance academic support structures.

“The Title III Strengthening Institutions grant recognizes Seton Hill University’s historic strength in the sciences as well as its longstanding commitment to providing access to educational opportunities to traditionally underserved students,” said Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger, Ed.D. “This grant will allow Seton Hill to expand upon our already robust academic programs in STEM fields and will provide students with the skills they need to succeed in their classes and in the highly-technical fields that await them.”

Seton Hill Provost Susan Yochum, SC, Ph.D., added, “Seton Hill students will greatly benefit from the Title III grant through increased opportunities to conduct undergraduate research, access to the latest instructional technology and laboratory instrumentation as well as assistance and enrichment in mathematics. The grant will enable Seton Hill to better prepare all students interested in careers or graduate study in STEM fields.”

The Title III grant will support Seton Hill students in four key ways. The grant will allow Seton Hill to expand its Robert M. Brownlee Mathematics Enrichment Center to increase successful outcomes for academically underprepared students and those in math-intensive STEM majors.

The grant will also provide funding for Seton Hill’s new Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, which began admitting students this fall. Grant funds will support the addition of a high-fidelity nursing simulation laboratory and the acquisition of nursing education equipment for re-creating scenarios found in the real-world medical environment. The Seton Hill BSN will help to alleviate a nursing shortage throughout Pennsylvania, especially in underserved rural and urban areas. 

Seton Hill will also develop additional high-tech learning environments and instrumentation to serve multiple disciplines in the sciences, including an Instructional Data Analysis Hub, which enables students to perform research and data analysis in an interactive, collaborative learning environment.

Finally, the grant will allow Seton Hill to increase undergraduate research capabilities as well as build a research fund to support student research opportunities and increase student competitiveness for careers in science and/or graduate school.

The Title III Strengthening Institutions grant program helps higher education institutions expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. 

This marks the third competitive Title III grant for Seton Hill University. The previous awards– one in 2000 and one in 2008 – allowed Seton Hill to sustain and upgrade campus technology and provide training to faculty in the effective integration of technology into teaching and learning.