Whittier College has been awarded $350,000 by The Fletcher Jones Foundation to fund its new Quantitative Success Center (QSC) for the next three years.
The Center is designed to further promote student success in quantitative courses. Additionally, the QSC will include professional development for integrative and innovative quantitative-based pedagogical approaches for faculty.
“We are very grateful to the Fletcher Jones Foundation for partnering with us on this very important initiative,” said President Linda Oubré. “We’ve learned that students who do not meet a particular benchmark in quantitative knowledge before college will be effectively shut out of a host of potential high-paying careers that require quantitative literacy. Our goal is to help our students develop math confidence and strong quantitative literacy skills so that all doors remain open to them.”
The QSC will play a vital role in promoting inclusivity for all academic disciplines contributing to quantitative literacy in departmental majors and minors on campus. By helping students succeed in gateway quantitative courses they gain greater access to and persistence in high-demand/high-compensation quantitative careers, including STEM-based jobs and related fields.
The QSC will work with faculty to develop and implement a reimagined quantitative literacy program–moving away from entirely abstract math to honor the cultural capital and strengths our students bring with them to their college experience. This new approach will focus on the collaborative educational process between faculty and students while contextualizing quantitative concepts and operations. A multi-step program to transform the way Whittier's quantitative education is delivered will bring about a profound shift from remedial deficit thinking to equitable and inclusive teaching in matriculating students who enter with lower math proficiency.
The QSC will offer students an array of programming, such as quantitative-focused peer tutoring, academic support, a quantitative-focused transitional experience, and more.
The Fletcher Jones Foundation is an independent non-profit private foundation based in Pasadena, California. Established in 1969, the foundation primarily supports private colleges and universities in California. The Foundation is governed by a distinguished nine-member Board of Trustees drawn from the ranks of business, law, finance, banking, education, and government.
