Dallas, TX (Thursday, June 10, 2010) The Dallas County College District (DCCCD) is the largest undergraduate institution in the state of Texas. The DCCCD, which consists of seven colleges – Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland, plus the R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications, will receive funding in the amount of $300,000 for the period August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2011. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson secured this funding for DCCCD within the fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.

This grant will help launch the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Professions Initiative. The initiative will have two major emphases: (1) STEM focus to encourage career choice and degree completion in the STEM fields and (2) STEM Teacher Education focus to prepare potential teachers for 7-12th grade classrooms.

“The number of scientific papers published by Americans is declining, Americans are receiving fewer Nobel Prizes in the sciences, and almost half of the industrial patents we award go to foreigners. This is evidence that the foundation of our innovation-based economy is experiencing dangerous deterioration. For America, this is unacceptable,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “We are not placing an emphasis on our nation’s teachers. Many of our brightest minds are not getting the money they need and are pursuing alternative careers.  Our youth notices the trend and opts not to teach in place of more profitable careers. If America is to remain the Mecca of innovation, products and technologies, we must incentivize teaching science and math.”

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.