New Mexico State University STEM programs and scholarships in southeastern New Mexico have received a boost with a generous donation from Chevron’s Mid-Continent Business Unit. NMSU’s colleges of Engineering and Education, along with the NMSU Carlsbad campus, each received funding from the $99,000 gift.
“The New Mexico State University Foundation is grateful to Chevron for supporting opportunities that engage both students and industry to build lasting partnerships, mentorships and a stronger workforce,” said Derek Dictson, NMSU Foundation president.
The colleges will collaborate on science, technology, engineering and mathematics outreach programs for middle school and high school students in southeastern New Mexico. The College of Engineering also received funds for the Aggie Innovation Space and Aggie Engineering Capstone Design Program. Additionally, Chevron continues to support the Chevron workforce scholarship at NMSU Carlsbad.
“Chevron has been impressed by NMSU’s approach to STEM education, starting with K-12 programs and continuing through two- or four-year degrees in engineering and other sciences,” said Nathan Carroll, Chevron New Mexico superintendent. “We’re especially excited by the robotics and other STEM programs NMSU plans to bring to Eddy and Lea counties when the pandemic subsides.”
“Together with the generous gift from Chevron, the NMSU College of Education STEM Outreach Center will impact many more students, families, teachers and administrators by providing high quality out-of-school-time STEM programs that will engage the students and promote learning for all in southeastern New Mexico,” said Susan Brown, College of Education interim dean.
The Aggie Innovation Space is an engineering resource and project center that supports students across the NMSU community. It was founded by the College of Engineering as a makerspace to foster new and innovative ideas. This past year, the Aggie Innovation Space was expanded to include a completely modernized engineering machine shop, replacing 1960s-era equipment with new, state-of the-art technology.
“We are grateful for this gift to help spark students’ interest in STEM fields,” said Lakshmi N. Reddi, College of Engineering dean. “Our hope is that these outreach programs lead new students to our engineering programs. Once they are here, the Aggie Innovation Space and Capstone Design Program are critical to hone their hands-on skills and give them real-world experience, so they are ready for the workforce.”
The Aggie Engineering Capstone Design Program give students an experiential-learning practice that helps them develop knowledge, skills and values from solving real-world problems.
“NMSU Carlsbad is very grateful and appreciative of the gifts from Chevron,” said John B. Gratton, recently retired NMSU Carlsbad president. “The donated monies will be put to best use in providing needed scholarships to students aspiring to enter into workforce development programs of study.”