Partner with the STEM Center
Share Your Expertise. Inspire the Future.
The STEM Center works to lower barriers and make it easy for faculty to engage with K–12 outreach. We offer flexible, well-supported partnership opportunities for a wide range of interests and time commitments. We welcome faculty from all disciplines and encourage interdisciplinary collaborations that connect our campus expertise with community needs. Are you interested in recruiting future majors, advancing broader impacts goals, providing meaningful experiences for your students, or inspiring the next generation? We can help you find a rewarding way to get involved. Together, we create impactful experiences that benefit K–12 learners, the community, and the JMU faculty and students who power them.
Whether you have an idea for a new program or are looking for a simple way to engage, we'd love to talk. Contact Kerry Cresawn to explore partnership opportunities and find the best fit for your interests and availability.
Ways to get involved:
(Not seeing what you hoped for? Contact us and share your thoughts!)
Low Commitment
Feature Your Space on a STEM Tour
Showcase the places where learning and research happen at JMU. Share your lab, studio, or classroom as part of a campus tour for middle or high school students. You provide the space and we'll provide the promotion, coordination, and student engagement.
Connect JMU Students to Outreach Opportunities
Help recruit students in your major to support STEM Center events. Students respond best to invitations from faculty they know. These are great opportunities for student organizations, clubs or other programs interested in community engagement.
Mid Commitment
Strengthen the Broader Impacts of Your Research
Considering a grant proposal? We can help explore engagement opportunities that align with broader impacts goals. We can support with brainstorming, piloting, community connections, and best-practice resources.
Bring a National STEM Events to Campus
Interested in hosting a competition, challenge, or expo connected to your field? You focus on the content and we assist with promotion, registration, logistics, youth safety compliance, communication, and materials. See the Brain Bee and Anatomy Expo as examples.
High Commitment
Design and Facilitate a Workshop
Design a 1–2 hour workshop for middle or high school students. The STEM Center provides support throughout the process, including resources for workshop development, feedback and evaluation, coordination of campus visits, and a $1,500 stipend for the initial presentation. We also offer ongoing support and compensation for subsequent presentations.
Faculty from all disciplines are encouraged to participate. Some of our most successful programs have emerged from interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships that extend beyond traditional STEM fields.
