NSF Awards Nearly $3 Million to Launch National S-STEM Hub
August 27, 2026
The National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $3 million to launch the S-STEM Hub: Translating Undergraduate Success into Graduate Opportunity, a five-year national research initiative examining how colleges and universities can strengthen graduate STEM pathways for low-income students. The University of New Mexico is a key partner in this effort, with Dr. Assata Zerai serving as a Co-Principal Investigator.
Dr. Zerai joins a multi-institutional leadership team led by Dr. Jesús Cisneros (UTEP) and Dr. Azuri González (Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities), alongside Co-PIs from the University of Illinois Chicago and UC Santa Barbara. Her expertise in institutional transformation adds critical depth to the Hub's mission of understanding how advising, mentoring, research experiences, and campus environments shape whether students pursue and succeed in graduate STEM programs.
Rather than studying individual programs in isolation, the Hub will identify which institutional practices can be adapted nationwide and which depend on local context. UNM's involvement ensures the university plays a leading role in generating evidence that will inform graduate education policy and practice across the country, reinforcing UNM's commitment to expanding opportunity for underrepresented students in STEM.
For more information, we encourage you to read the full announcement from HSRU here.
