Paving the Way for Community College Students

Jeff Stear, Ed.D., P.E. Engineering/Stem Program Director, Houston Community College

Jeff Stear is currently Engineering/STEM Program Director at HCC. Prior to this role, he was a Civil Engineer and Air Force officer. He pivoted into education in 2013, serving as a STEM teacher and coordinator in high school. During this time, he also began teaching as an engineering adjunct at HCC, which led to his transition to his current full-time role in 2019. Jeff recently earned his Ed.D. in organizational leadership at Abilene Christian University, and previously earned his master’s degree in civil engineering and a bachelor’s degree in construction from Bradley University.

Please share valuable insights into your journey and mention your daily roles and responsibilities at your organization.

I am a licensed professional engineer with 34 years of industry experience and now an additional 11 years in education. My journey began when I graduated from Manual High School in 1979 and joined the US Air Force / Air National Guard. After completing training as a Civil Engineering Technician, I returned to my hometown of Peoria, IL and worked full-time for 8 years at the 182nd Tactical Airlift Wing. During this time, I began my college studies at Illinois Central College, leading to my transfer to Bradley University where I completed by Bachelor of Science in Construction and my Master of Science in Civil Engineering. The role that community college played in my life during this time is why my current position is so important to me. Like many of my students today, I was not in a position immediately after high school to be accepted into a 4-year university, nor could I have afforded the tuition. I am also enthusiastic because a higher percentage of historically underrepresented students begin their college studies in community college.

After completing my education, I advanced my career by obtaining my professional engineering license. Over the years, I have held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately owning my own company. My projects took me to every state in America, and several other countries. Highlights of my career include serving as the Deputy Director for Onshore Decontamination during the Deep-Water Horizon event in 2010. In 2013, I pivoted from practicing as an engineer to educating students to become engineers. In my first educational role I served for 4 years as a STEM instructor at Milby High School, working with a population of predominantly Hispanic students. I was selected as teacher of the year twice and served as the lead teacher for the linked-learning initiative and the IPAA Petroleum Academy. I advanced my career as a Magnet/STEM coordinator at South Early College High School for two years, working with a population of predominantly African American students. In both of these roles I was responsible for promoting STEM and Engineering careers, particularly for students representing historically underrepresented populations.

“Houston Community College (HCC) is committed to meeting the diverse educational needs of students who choose to start their higher education journey with us.  Students may pursue community college because of the affordability, variety of class times, or open access.  Historically, community college engineering students have not been as successful with transferring into and completing 4-year engineering degrees. Through strategic partnerships with 4-year universities, we are significantly improving the completion rate of 4-year engineering students, which shows promise for other areas of study.”

I was blessed to join HCC in 2019 as Program Director, again with the opportunity to reach out to the K12 community to promote STEM and Engineering careers as part of a “New Texas Pipeline” strategy. On a daily basis, I work to grow and advance the engineering and STEM programs at HCC by pursuing and implementing federal and local grants which currently total over $3 million. I continuously engage in strategic partnerships with industry and academic partners. I mentor college students in a large variety of design challenges and competitions and am engaged in outreach efforts through robotics and other STEM competitions, workshops and summer camps for elementary, middle, and high school students. I serve as the Program Director for the Houston Eastside Hub of the HCC Engineering Center of Excellence, which has led to the establishment of an Engineering Academy with the University of Houston and dramatically increased the enrollment of students in engineering for the historically underserved Eastside area of Houston. I have also recently become more involved in the day-to-day academic operations of our department as the acting department chair. Our aim is to achieve the strategic goal of developing the New Texas Pipeline, of encouraging more students meet students where they are and develop their identity, belonging, resilience, and determination to successfully complete STEM and engineering degrees.

In the coming years, I am looking forward to expanding on the work of my doctoral dissertation to encourage more strategic partnerships between community colleges and universities to improve the completion rate of 4-year Engineering and STEM degrees. I believe these partnerships are critical to meeting the growing need for Engineering and STEM professionals in the United States, as necessary to remain competitive globally and to meet the ever-increasing challenges of today’s world including energy diversity, climate change, population growth, water shortages, and the list goes on. I also believe that as the demographics of our country continue to change, it is of paramount importance to continue to promote STEM and Engineering degrees for historically underrepresented students. Not only will this increase in the diversity of our STEM and Engineering workforce improve economic opportunity, but it will foster the innovation necessary to meet the diverse needs of the United States and the world.

What are some of the major challenges in the industry when it comes to implementing STEM education in schools?

Responding to the challenges in the education sector, especially in the implementation of STEM, requires us to be an active participant in the STEM eco-system of Houston by continuously building and leveraging strategic partnerships with industry and academic institutions. Our industry partnerships help our students find employment as interns in their field of study, rather than flipping burgers. For example, during a recent job fair, we identified opportunities for fifteen engineering student interns with a local geotechnical company. Our academic partnerships such as the University of Texas at Tyler – Houston Engineering Center provide students with the opportunity to complete a 4-year engineering degree on an HCC campus at a discounted tuition rate. Academy partnerships with Texas A&M University and the University of Houston allow students to be co-enrolled in both institutions to reduce cost and improve completion rates by bringing 4-year university courses taught by 4-year university professors to our community college campuses. Research partnerships with local universities performing cutting edge research in cancer prevention and treatment, analyzing lunar regolith for Artemis, developing advanced polymeric materials, aerospace technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, nanotechnology, and brain therapeutics allow HCC to place dozens of community college students in these labs working hand in glove with researchers over the summer in life-changing, paid research experiences.

We also strive to improve the preparation of students who wish to pursue STEM and Engineering degrees as early as elementary school. I serve on several volunteer steering committees and advisory boards for a variety of K-12 programs that are devoted to promoting STEM education and careers. We know that the earlier a child can see themselves in a STEM or Engineering career, and the more seriously they study math and science through hands-on project-based learning, the more successful they will be. Industry and higher education partnerships matter at this level as well. I have personal experience with organizations such as the Independent Petroleum Association of America who sponsored highly successful Petroleum Academies in high schools, and corporations such as Baker Hughes who came into my classroom and worked side by side with me as a teacher to give students first-hand engineering experiences involving the design of down-hole tools. Every local university that I can think of also has outreach programs that we work with hand in hand to better prepare students for STEM and Engineering careers.

How do you envision the future of this space regarding STEM education trends in 2024?

At the college level, I envision the establishment of more strategic relationships between community colleges and fouryear universities in the future. In my dissertation, I showed that community college students have not progressed as well in the past as they are performing now with the collaboration of fouryear universities. My research found that more involvement and a higher level of investment in community college students by 4-year universities dramatically increases their success in the completion of 4-year Engineering degrees. At the K-12 educational level I anticipate that we will see a movement towards school vouchers and an increase in the privatization of K-12 education. As controversial as this topic is, the STEM education eco-system mentioned previously should be prepared to adjust and adapt to whatever changes may result, to ensure that we continue to promote STEM and Engineering education, particularly for historically underrepresented students. We cannot afford to abandon support of the K-12 public education system that will continue to exist.

What would be your piece of advice to your peer fellows and aspiring professionals in implementing strategies in this field?

I recommend that younger STEM and Engineering professionals find a way to get involved in STEM education by participating in mentoring programs with local schools, or volunteering for outreach programs through their employers or college alma mater. For older, bolder professionals that are financially stable and feeling the call to serve as they approach the twilight of their careers, I recommend teaching at the secondary or college level. It is rewarding beyond measure and can make a nice contribution to your retirement fund.

Construction

Aerospace

Artificial Intelligence

Robotics

Renewable Energy