The DSU Agilent partnership aims to create STEM opportunities for underrepresented communities. (Photo from DSU Day 2023)
Delaware State University is hosting a celebration Thursday to highlight the third year of a partnership that’s given the school $3 million in scholarships and focused on providing STEM opportunities to underrepresented communities.
In 2022, DSU, a Historically Black College or University, began its collaboration with Agilent Technologies, a global life science company.
The purpose of the partnership is to give underrepresented students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) the support and opportunities required for academic and career success.
It helps these students, known as Agilent Scholars, build social capital through mentorship programs, internships, career counseling and networking.
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Agilent has also committed $5.5 million in lab instrumentation and equipment to DSU’s College of Agriculture, Science and Technology.
Mentorship involves a meeting at least once every two weeks for a minimum of one semester, and allows students to ask any questions relating to STEM or seek career or academic advice.
Students and officials of the partnership have previously stated how important it is to provide opportunities to Black people, and also Black women more specifically, as they are very underrepresented in the field of STEM.
Black people make up just 9% of all STEM jobs, and only 4% of all STEM jobs are worked by Black women, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Agilent and DSU are true partners in this project to uplift first generation, low-income, Black, Hispanic and female students in STEM,” said Sally Frank, manager of Agilent’s philanthropic programs.
She said stakeholder engagement and social capital are the two key ingredients that make the partnership impactful.
“We at Agilent listen to what DSU needs to prepare its students for success and to equip the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology itself to serve future students and professors,” she said.
The partnership is not prescriptive, she said, but rather collaborative and iterative.
“We set goals proactively as a team and we review them quarterly to apply learning and improve the impact,” she said.
Here are some other highlights from the partnership:
- Agilent has donated $3 million in scholarships that fully cover tuition, room and board, for 40 DSU Agilent Scholars.
- Every single non-graduating, first-year Agilent Scholar from the 2022-2023 academic year has returned in 2023-2024.
- All 10 Agilent Scholars from the graduating class of 2024 are continuing in STEM through employment or post-graduate studies.
- An expanded mentorship program across a wider variety of academic majors, in which Agilent Scholars will be closely paired with Agilent employees over the course of the new school year.
- New educational exchanges and initiatives providing Agilent Scholars with real-world experience and introducing them to global career and philanthropic opportunities.
- 71% of Agilent scholars obtained STEM-related summer internships in 2023.
Thursday’s “DSU Day” runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Agilent Technologies, located at 2850 Centerville Road in Wilmington.
Among other activities, the day will include a panel discussion with Agilent workers and graduates, tours of the labs, speed rounds of discussions with different mentors and photo opportunities for the current Agilent students.
“In terms of social capital, we all know that education and experience are key levers to pursuing a career in STEM, but relationships open up opportunities, afford upward mobility, and, in the case of underrepresented groups, relationships provide comfort, security and a sense of belonging,” Frank said. “Once a student receives their education and earns their degree, social capital can make a significant difference in their career trajectories.”
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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