New York middle school students participating in one of the CCNY STEM Institute's programs. Photo credit: CCNY STEM Institute.
In a further boost to its mission after another successful year, The City College of New York’s STEM Institute is the recipient of a $110,000 grant from the Pinkerton Foundation. The one-year support beginning this summer will bolster the Institute’s programs aimed at empowering students from historically underrepresented communities to pursue meaningful careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM].
This new Pinkerton funding will support:
- Curriculum development;
- Staff training;
- The purchase of classroom materials;
- Technology access; and
- Enhanced project experiences.
In addition, the grant will enable the Institute to strengthen opportunities for collaboration with New York City agencies, municipal and industry partners, as well as community organizations, offering mentorship, professional guidance, and real world problem-solving experiences.
The investment in this integrated framework will enable the STEM Institute to cultivate the next generation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) innovators; students who are confident, skilled, and prepared to address urban challenges, contribute to their communities, and pursue meaningful careers in STEM fields.
This is the Pinkerton Foundation’s second assistance to CCNY in two years.
In summer 2024, a $20,000 Pinkerton grant enabled the Institute to launch the CCNY Research Internship in STEM Program (CRISP) in collaboration with the New York Science Research Mentoring Consortium (NYSRMC). The goal was to support a cohort of approximately 20 students to complete deeper, mentored research with added expert guidance. Student teams later presented their research at a symposium at the American Museum of Natural History.
Last year, a STEM Institute team won the U.S. Congressional App Challenge for New York’s 13th District for innovative app development and student creativity. It was CCNY’s third success in a row.
Earlier in 2025, CCNY STEM students co-mentored by Luke St. Amand, a Lectec co-founder, completed a hands-on engineering and entrepreneurship curriculum where they built electric vehicles, learned about manufacturing, and explored real-world applications of STEM. An innovative STEM education company whose goal is to change how students experience STEM, Lectec later showcased the same cutting-edge educational tools used in the classroom on the ABC network’s Shark Tank series.
About the Pinkerton Foundation
The Pinkerton Foundation is an independent grantmaking organization established in 1966 by Robert Allan Pinkerton, the Chairman and CEO of Pinkerton’s, Inc., then the nation’s oldest and largest security company. The foundation, which retains no ties to the firm, supports community-based programs for children, youth and families in economically disadvantaged areas in New York City. Although we consider a wide range of youth development initiatives, Pinkerton favors direct-service programs that have one overriding goal: to help young people reach their full potential. Read more.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers, and society. At City College, more than 16,500 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity, and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together,” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College's mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic, and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu