Scalable STEM Interventions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

This book documents conditions that lead to effective STEM interventions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It also clarifies the reasons why these interventions often struggle to be replicated across contexts, scaled beyond initial cohorts or sustained past their founders or funding cycles. Written by practitioners with decades of experience working directly with students, this book tackles a persistent challenge: why, successful research initiatives like intrusive advising, near peer-mentoring, or identity-affirming learning communities often prove difficult to incorporate into existing institutional systems and structures, despite proven outcomes.

The volume's thirteen chapters span three levels of analysis. At the individual level, chapters introduce the CRiTPVEST5 integrative framework, examine theory-driven intervention design, document culturally relevant STEM pedagogy across five disciplines, trace STEM identity development through pre-college and undergraduate experiences, and describe the differences between near-peer mentoring, health career pipelines, peer mentorship ecosystems, and doctoral preparation models. At the institutional level, chapters address faculty and student well-being, sustainable funding strategies including endowments and corporate partnerships, and the scaling of a STEM literacy intervention across eight institutions. At the societal level, chapters document the full historical arc of HBCUs, from founding through the present political moment, and present empirical evidence that HBCU attendance is associated with significantly higher intergenerational economic mobility rates than comparable non-HBCU institutions.

Featuring practical tools for replication, scaling, and long-term sustainability, this volume is essential reading for graduate students in education, HBCU faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals seeking replicable models for sustainable program design, as well as education researchers, policymakers, and funders focused on broadening participation in STEM