Ansley, Cassara, Anna, and Madi

The STEM Council Operations Center’s secret weapons

Over the almost five-year course of Iowa's nationally acclaimed STEM initiative, some have marveled at how much gets done by the operations center housed at the University of Northern Iowa. Seemingly incessant meetings, conferences, reports, grant proposals, communications, studies and other duties emanate from the Cedar Valley to steer our ambitious STEM Council agenda across the state.

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Catherine Swoboda

MVP for Iowa STEM: Catherine Swoboda

With STEM comes the ability to problem solve—a trait needed more and more in today’s world where new  diseases emerge, economies roil and the atmosphere endures assault.

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2016 STEM Day at the Capitol

Capitol Rotunda swarmed by story-telling STEM-ers

On February 18, the STEM Council filled the Capitol Rotunda with hundreds of STEM programs and partners from across the state to educate and show state legislators what Iowa STEM looks like in today’s classrooms, museums, afterschool clubs and more.

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MVP for Iowa STEM: Gary Scholten and The Principal Financial Group

The Principal, an international financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, represents “the principle” idea of what it means for a business to demonstrate its passion and vested interest in Iowa STEM, especially with The Principal’s support in providing one of the company’s top leaders, Gary Scholten, executive vice president and chief information officer, to serve on the STEM Counc

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Business, take in a teacher and transform a school

Here’s a quiz for you: What Iowa STEM program, after getting jumpstarted by a Career Awareness grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, earned a million dollar boost from the National Science Foundation?

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STEM BEST builds partnerships in rural Iowa

The STEM Council is focused on growing a STEM-talented workforce that stays in Iowa.

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Sixth-graders at Lewis Central Middle School in Council Bluffs enjoy Engineering is Elementary, one of 11 programs offered to educators and their students on the 2016-17 STEM Scale-Up Program menu.

Scaling the best of STEM to young Iowans

The launch of the STEM Scale-Up Program is the most significant annual undertaking by the STEM Council’s operations team. This month marks the start of a rollout of the best of STEM to more than 100,000 Iowan students with the support of a couple thousand educators.

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Lt. Governor Reynolds speaks at Jordan Creek Elementary School

Iowans take a big “byte” of coding

Early December’s celebration of computer science in Iowa worked to inspire thousands of students across the state to try a “byte” of the computer programming world.

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Iowa STEM leaders attend White House discussion on education issues

National education conversation echoes Iowa STEM

Twice in December, Iowa STEM leaders were invited to the White House to discuss hot-button education issues, and in both instances, gave as much as they got. On December 8, U.S.

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STEM Council member Beth Hochstedler works with a collegaue and students at new STEM BEST model

MVP for Iowa STEM: Beth Hochstedler

A strong advocate for education at both the state and national levels, Beth Hochstedler’s passion for Iowa STEM pre-dates her appointment to the STEM Council in 2013.

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