Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring
Grant: Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM)
Agency: National Science Foundation
Division: Directorate for Educational and Human Resources; Division of Undergraduate Education
Deadline: The deadline was June 5, 2013.
Description: Each year the National Science Foundation, on behalf of the White House, awards a handful of Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring programs. These awards are granted to outstanding organizational programs or individual mentoring efforts designed to enhance the participation and retention of individuals who might not otherwise have considered or had access to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The award recognizes the past mentoring achievements of the nominee. In addition to the award, each recipient will be invited to Washington, D.C. for an awards ceremony, recognition events, meetings with leaders in federal sector education and research, and focused workshops addressing effective mentoring of persons from underrepresented groups.
Fit for Public Broadcasting: This award is an excellent fit for stations that have maintained a strong involvement in mentoring activities for a minimum of five years. Additionally, this award is a great fit for stations involved in the American Graduate initiative. Stations who work closely with great mentors or mentoring organizations in their efforts should consider nominating these people as a way to feature their own personal accomplishments as a station.
Past organization award recipients include the Ocean Discovery Institute for their efforts in empowering underprivileged youth through oceanic education initiatives in 2011. The Center for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Illinois was also a recipient in 2011 for their work addressing the lack of women in STEM disciplines.
A full list of past Presidential Awardees can be found here.
Eligibility: Nominees for this award can be both individuals and organizations. Eligible organizations must be affiliated with formal or informal U.S. educational institutions, U.S. corporations or not-for-profit organizations. Both organizational and individual nominees must have demonstrated a sustained mentoring effort for a minimum of five years.
Anticipated Funding: Up to 16 new awards are expected in each fiscal year. Each award is in the amount of $10,000 and will be accompanied by a commemorative presidential certificate.
How to Apply: Nominees are required to prepare and submit all applications via the NSF FastLane system or Grants.gov. While both platforms are acceptable, due to the unique nature of this program nominees are strongly encouraged to use FastLane to prepare and submit applications. Detailed instructions on how to use the FastLane system can be found here.
Resources:
Program Notice
Program Website
Previous Awardees
