Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates has announced a $9 million initiative to boost the number of college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math fields nationwide and reduce attrition rates in those fields among disadvantaged students.

To that end, the initiative will target three areas of two- and four-year undergraduate STEM education: preparing future college and university faculty to be both researchers and instructors; examining whether financial aid can help more students persevere in STEM disciplines; and providing scholarships to students pursuing STEM degrees at hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities.

Grants awarded by the organization include one of $3.2 million to the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, a network of twenty-two research universities in sixteen states, to help train future STEM faculty in proven teaching and learning techniques. In partnership with the National Science Foundation, Great Lakes also pledged grants totaling $4 million to hundreds of students at ten colleges and universities in Wisconsin as part of a study to determine whether need-based financial aid helps undergraduates — particularly those engaged in a STEM discipline — stay in college and complete their associate's or bachelor's degree. The organization also awarded $1.875 million in scholarships to seven hundred and fifty low-income students at four hundred colleges across the country majoring in STEM disciplines.

"STEM drives our nation’s innovation and competitiveness, and we're concerned that the United States is falling behind in producing college graduates with degrees in these essential disciplines," said Great Lakes president and CEO Richard D. George. "That's why Great Lakes is committing $9 million to three initiatives that will help more two- and four-year college students persevere in their pursuit of STEM degrees, preparing them for in-demand, well-paying jobs."