Ohio Northern University is one of 20 U.S. colleges and universities selected for an American Association of Colleges and University (AAC&U) initiative called TIDES (Teaching to Increase Diversity and Equity in STEM).

Ohio Northern, one of five schools receiving honorable mention accolades, will receive a grant totaling $34,278 to participate in the AAC&U STEM Institutes over the next three years.  Of the 20 institutions selected, 14 were full awardees, and one institution was designated as noteworthy.

The initiative will support curriculum and faculty development activities for these campuses to develop models for broader institutional change for the advancement of evidence-based and culturally competent teaching in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), particularly in the computer and information science domains.

The TIDES schools were selected via a two-tiered peer-review process that included reviewers from a range of disciplines, both STEM and non-STEM. Honorable mentions were noted by reviewers as having meritorious proposals. These institutions are invited to participate in the TIDES institutes to be held each year of the initiative period.

Over the next three years of the initiative, TIDES and its awardee institutions will provide STEM faculty with opportunities to become proficient in incorporating culturally sensitive pedagogies into STEM courses, develop interdisciplinary courses that include the computer/information science disciplines, and engage in course implementation that is grounded in evidence-based pedagogies that are culturally sensitive.

The TIDES initiative is funded with a $4.9 million grant to AAC&U from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley.