HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY • OFFICE FOR RESEARCH & SPONSORED PROGRAMS
The
SPRING 2019 ISSUE 7
GRANT Seeker
A spotlight on excellence in grant development by a Hofstra University employee
Dr. Jessica Santangelo By: Katie Krahulik
Dr. Jessica Santangelo’s research is not typical in the field of biology. It is called discipline-based education research. “I’m interested in finding ways to help students learn and succeed in STEM.” With a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Auburn University, a PhD from Cornell University, and a few years studying at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dr. Santangelo has committed her life to paying it forward. Her passion is to effect student success and teach others the value of science. Currently, Dr. Santangelo is working on a project that looks at the metacognitive development of students in an attempt to monitor, regulate, and reform student learning. “Students often come to college and don’t know how to learn.” She is expanding her research into other departments, starting with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra. Her plan is to take her initiatives one step further by looking at ways to alter the entire institutional landscape and support faculty in capitalizing student success. Dr. Santangelo is aiming to improve retention in the field. While many students enter college very interested in biology, oftentimes they’ll underperform in their first few semesters and end up dropping the major or leaving the institution entirely. “Every student is very smart and capable. What seems to be lacking for some students is the ability to self-regulate their learning. For most of my students who struggle, it never occurs to them that they should self-test or try teaching the material to someone else.” Hofstra received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation thanks to the efforts of Dr. Santangelo and her team, who proposed a new program designed to provide support to STEM
students who were highachieving in high school but struggled academically during their first semester at Hofstra. The grant is unlike many of its Jessica Santangelo kind in that 60 percent of the external funding serves as scholarship money that is given directly to students enrolled in the program. Dr. Santangelo calls the scholarship counterintuitive, as it is allocated exclusively to underperforming students. The idea is to give them a second chance rather than lose them from science or from Hofstra. “We’re creating an integrated achievement and mentoring model where we pull all the awesome parts of Hofstra together into one seamless experience for the students.” The program, titled the Integrated Achievement and Mentoring (iAM) program, commenced this year as its administrators just selected their first round of eligible students, whom the team calls emerging scholars. Dr. Santangelo said the grant has given many departments at Hofstra something to rally behind, as the program involves many different entities on campus, including Institutional Research, Financial Aid, the Center for Academic Excellence, the Career Center, and the First Generation Task Force, as well as biology and chemistry faculty. The grant brought these different units together to talk about and support a common goal. After traveling the world for eight years and scuba diving for her PhD, working at the San Diego aquarium, and working in education and outreach at the U.S. Forest Service, Dr. Santangelo actualized a career that has allowed her to further her greatest passion – getting people excited
about science. After six years in the Biology Department at Hofstra, she observed student learning patterns that inspired the projects she works on today. Apart from her role within the Biology Department, Dr. Santangelo remains dedicated to many facets of student success. She is on the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee and the Honor Board. She is also a co-coordinator for the Brain Bee held on Hofstra’s campus, does work for the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, and facilitates training for faculty. Her life is centered on student success and helping faculty help students. “I have a personal mission statement. It is to nurture myself and others to elevate all that we are, do, and achieve. With everything I do, both personally and professionally, I make sure it is aligned with my mission statement. The NSF-funded iAM program exactly meets that mission.” Though she is proud to be this year’s Grant Seeker award recipient, Dr. Santangelo refuses to take all the credit. She attributes her success to a team of dedicated faculty and to incredible administrative support, a collaborative effort that fills her with pride. She told her team they would be sharing the award, rotating it through their offices. “It’s an award for all of us because nothing I have done was done alone. Everything I do relies on the input of other people, so it’s not just me; it’s our team.”
Hofstra STEM project members at the Association of American Colleges & Universities Transforming STEM Higher Education conference in Atlanta, GA. From left: Rosebud Elijah, Emily Mundorff, Lisa DeTora, Lisa Filippi.
Hofstra thanks you!
Your scholarly achievements enhance Hofstra’s reputation as a leading educational institution. If you are interested in pursuing a grant opportunity or have any questions, please contact ORSP at 516-463-6810.