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CU • News & Events

Professor Catherine Snyder featured on WalletHub

Release Date
Wednesday January 18, 2023

Best Metro Areas for STEM Professionals

Catherine Snyder
Catherine Snyder Ph.D., MAT, MBA, NBCT – Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Education – Clarkson University

How can local authorities make their cities more appealing to STEM graduates and technology companies? 

Local authorities can make their cities more appealing to STEM companies by improving and expanding programming at the high school level. For example, high school programs should include opportunities for students to earn credits toward associate degrees in STEM fields. High schools and community organizations should work collectively to provide students with opportunities to learn about STEM fields, and the different jobs available. Local authorities should encourage STEM businesses to support high school and college students with career exploration opportunities, internships, and scholarships. In other words, cities need to bring all the links in the chain of success together in order to build a strong STEM infrastructure. This means connecting schools with STEM businesses and universities. 

An example of how we do this at Clarkson is our Rise High program. This program connects under-resourced students at Schenectady City Schools with STEM experts from local companies through a Saturday enrichment program. Our students see how the science they are learning in high school applies to real-world careers through the Rise High program. 

How can government, employers, and educators increase the number of women and minorities in STEM fields? 

The solution to this challenge is systemic because we start to lose our girls early in the educational process. In some cases, girls shift from doing well in STEM classes to doing poorly as early as late elementary and middle school. STEM curriculum needs to be exemplified in a broader range of fields. For example, STEM is in art and design, nutrition, medical support fields, etc. We need to move away from more conventional expressions of STEM expertise to include a wide variety of stem examples. By doing so, a broader range of learners, including girls, will be more likely to see themselves as future STEM professionals. Beyond that, STEM industries need to make themselves more comfortable and welcoming places for women. From human resource policies to work culture, we have a lot of work to do as a society to make the STEM workplace welcoming.

Click here to read the entire article: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-metro-areas-for-stem-professionals/9200#expert=Catherine_Snyder

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


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News directors and editors: For more information, contact Melissa Lindell, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6716 or mlindell@clarkson.edu.

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