Tarrytown’s Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) announced a five-year, $5 million strategic investment to bolster the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational environment in the Nashville school system.
According to the company, Regeneron will collaborate with the Nashville STEM ecosystem to support existing programs and adapt initiatives that have proven successful in its local New York high school community. Regeneron will work to grant teachers research fellowships and professional development opportunities annually, increase student success rates for awards, scholarships, and STEM-centric higher education opportunities, grow the volume of student research projects showcased at science competitions and boost the retention rate of science research teachers.
Collaborators in this endeavor will include a number of schools, non-governmental organizations, businesses and universities, including Vanderbilt University’s Collaborative for Science Education and Outreach, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, Middle Tennessee Science & Engineering Fair, Project Lead The Way, Yonkers Partners In Education, STEM Leadership Center and Society for Science.
“I owe my scientific passion and career to programs that got me started when I was in high school – including science research programs and the challenge of the Science Talent Search – which together changed my life and inspired me to pursue science to help cure disease,” said Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, co-founder, co-chairman, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron. “Among the many STEM programs we support, the ones created in our own backyard of New York over the past decade have proven successful, in part reflected by the success of our local students at the premier high school science competitions.”
