The HBCU STEM Undergraduate Success (STEM-US) Center’s mission statement is: “To understand and tell the stories of HBCUs through convergence research for us, and the nation; thereby, creating a national legacy of excellence in STEM education at HBCUs.” The STEM-US (pronounced ‘stem-us’) Center will employ a large-scale community participatory research approach to conduct empirical, mixed method studies and publish peer reviewed research on the successful cultivation of STEM students at HBCUs. To highlight the different academic cultures and the students they serve, given the varying competences and economic profiles, the Center will study HBCUs individually and by classification (i.e. large vs. small, public vs. private, rural vs. urban, etc.). 

To accomplish this goal, the STEM-US Center has already created a research hub for HBCU faculty. With additional adequate funding, the STEM-US Center will take a comprehensive approach to produce: 1) a holistic strategy by integrating research, education, outreach and knowledge transfer to effectively understand and disseminate at local, state and national levels the contributions, impact, and positive legacy of HBCUs in broadening participation; 2) a common theoretical framework that helps to expose the vulnerabilities while developing the necessary support for promoting resilience, success, and retention of students; and 3) research-based protocols and analytical findings that will inform mainstream education reform as well as contribute to the larger goal of overcoming race-related educational disparity in the United States.