Driving Change for Native Students
About the Initiative
The Coalition for Indigenous STEM (CIS) is a program supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Driving Change initiative in an effort to cultivate continuing cultural change within STEM programs at the University of Montana (UM). While students, especially those from historically excluded groups, are often expected to assimilate to academic settings, this initiative shifts focus to the university system in order to create a more inclusive and dynamic environment for UM's Indigenous STEM student body.
Our focus is to honor, celebrate, learn from, and preserve the multiple ways of knowing that UM's diverse students, faculty, and staff possess. For too long, Western STEM has ignored the powerful and varied perspectives Indigenous people bring to the classroom and research. We want to embrace these perspectives and provide academic and personal support to students while they embark on their academic journey.
CIS programs are centered on both the student and institutional levels so that change is maximized for UM's Native STEM students.