The New England district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [1] (USACE) has recently entered into a STEM education agreement with Worcester State University. The partnership aims to encourage the study and research of STEM fields among students and faculty at WSU. It is the District’s first educational agreement with a four-year college or university.
Col. Christopher Barron, New England District commander, and New England District’s STEM coordinator, Mark Anderson, traveled to the university to meet with President Barry Maloney in October to sign the agreement.
“While working with multiple schools simultaneously, we were fortunate that Worcester State was so eager to execute the agreement and work with the District,” Anderson said.
Anderson will work with Dr. Linda Larrivee, dean of the School of Education, Health, and the Natural Sciences [2], on any STEM initiatives brought about by the agreement.
Dean Larrivee says that the partnership will afford our students and faculty opportunities to use some of the resources available to USACE, such as equipment. In turn, USACE expects to be participating in panel discussions and career fairs on campus. Both partners foresee collaborating on research; involving university faculty in certain USACE projects; identifying and developing areas of research where students could get academic credit for working on projects; and forming a pool of volunteer professionals to assist in developing and or taking STEM-related courses, as well as possible site visits to USACE facilities. Larrivee indicated that meetings are underway between faculty at Worcester State and those coordinating this program for USACE to iron out the details of what is expected to be a partnership both organizations and will help WSU provide more enriching, STEM-based educational opportunities for students.
About this photo: Precast concrete culvert section being lowered into position onto the concrete pile caps as part of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management project in Boston. Photo taken by the USACE.