“I enjoy leading programs that move the needle in STEM education.” That’s how Lee Meadows, executive director of the Alabama STEM Council, describes his professional mission. Meadows’ Alabama STEM Council was created by his governor’s executive order in late 2020, amid pandemic restrictions, and is still in the early stages of developing STEM initiatives for his state. In general, he says, the council aims to improve STEM education and career awareness to expand a home-grown STEM workforce. To find out more about the Alabama STEM Council – a member of the STEMx network – we contacted Meadows with a few questions:

Q: Tell us about your education and professional background and how that led you to become executive director of the Alabama STEM Council.

A: I began my career as a chemistry and physics teacher in a suburban school in Jackson, Mississippi, where I fell in love with the science classroom and helping teenagers learn science and why it’s valuable in their lives. I earned my Ph.D. in science education from the University of Georgia and then joined the faculty in the School of Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). 

I’ve spent much of my career cultivating the skills and talents of new science teachers and assisting those science teachers who were already certified in improving their instruction. One of the most exciting things I’ve had the opportunity to do as part of my work at UAB is leading the development of the UABTeach program, which is part of the national UTeach network. It’s a program that allows undergraduates with a STEM degree to also earn a teaching credential, thereby helping to end the shortage of science and math teachers. 

Through my experiences in UABTeach, I realized that I enjoy leading programs that move the needle in STEM education.

Q: Now tell us about the Alabama STEM Council: What is its mission, how is it funded and structured, and how does it support STEM education in your state? How does your council follow the Alabama Roadmap to STEM Success?

A: The mission of the Alabama STEM Council is threefold: first, improving STEM education in the state; second, improving career awareness and exploration with a focus on middle schoolers and high schoolers, so they will know what great STEM careers are available to them in the future. This leads into the third initiative,  improving Alabama’s STEM workforce. 

The STEM Council is funded by an appropriation from Alabama’s Legislature. It is structured with an executive committee that is the decision-making body, made up of nine members. The total membership is comprised of 49 major stakeholders in STEM education including STEM industry, two- and four-year colleges, informal STEM education and K-12. Our council follows the Alabama Roadmap to STEM Success by building on these connections. 

The Alabama Roadmap to STEM Success was created by Gov. Kay Ivey’s ACES (Advisory Council for Excellence in STEM) Committee. The ACES Report called for the formation of the STEM Council, which ensures that its initiatives are in line with the STEM Roadmap.

Q: What is your organization best known for? 

A: The Alabama STEM Council is currently in its formative stages and has been in existence for about one year. We have been purposely focusing on building a strong foundation before launching programs. During the past year, we’ve had six working groups deliberating and developing policies that will lay the foundation for our work and help us move into our next year of operation. We are excited to be launching several new initiatives in the coming months.

Q: What is the biggest “win” or success your council has experienced?

A: Our biggest win was getting the council up and going virtually during a global pandemic. To date, the council has yet to meet in person. Despite this, we are pleased with the progress we’ve made meeting virtually, and this includes our full STEM Council, executive committee and each of our working groups. 

Our goal for the first year was simply beginning our work in challenging times, and we’ve done it. We’ve started the work of the Alabama STEM Council!

Q: Do you partner with state government and/or the Alabama State Department of Education, and how?

A: We do partner with state government, including the Alabama State Department of Education. Unlike other peer institutions, the Alabama STEM Council is a part of the Alabama Department of Commerce. We are situated within the workforce side of the STEM education/workforce equation. We have a close relationship with the Alabama Department of Commerce, AIDT (the state’s workforce agency) and the Alabama Workforce Council. 

Our membership is such that we are able to keep a close relationship with the Alabama State Department of Education including Superintendent Eric Mackey and AMSTI (the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative). We also have several public officials from other state agencies – including the Alabama Department of Labor, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, the Alabama Community College System and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education – who are members of the STEM Council.

Q: Does your organization have other notable partners, and how do such partnerships make a difference in advancing STEM education in your state?

A: Our other partners are members of organizations that are leaders in STEM in Alabama, and they sit as members on the STEM Council. These organizations include McWane Science Center, Discovery Hall at Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Southern Research, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

Q: How is your council involved in building the workforce of tomorrow in Alabama?

A: What a great question, and one that I’m excited about answering and watching how the STEM Council unfolds its strategy in this area. Alabama must grow its own STEM workforce. Ours is not a state that can expect graduates from throughout the nation or the world to move here and staff our workforce. If we don’t grow our own STEM workforce, we won’t have one. 

We see clearly that many of the changes being made in Alabama’s education system, from preschool through graduate school, are preparing and providing us with the STEM workforce we need. A high-quality STEM educational foundation is STEM workforce development. If students are learning STEM the way they should be, from early grades into postsecondary learning experiences, they will be ready for the STEM workforce. 

The STEM Council is excited about promoting the connection between STEM education and STEM workforce development and helping that connection to grow stronger.

Q: What advice would you give other STEM educators and/or stakeholders who are working to improve STEM-based programming in their states?

A: The Alabama STEM Council is new and currently in our formative stages, so we won’t yet offer advice, however, we are ready to partner with any networks throughout the nation that are seeking to move toward the same goals we have. We would like to succeed in nurturing STEM education that leads to a STEM workforce that the U.S. needs.

Q: Tell us a fun fact about yourself that you’d like to share with other STEMx members.

A: A fun fact about the work of the Alabama STEM Council is that we have partnered with a few other organizations to produce a television series airing on APT (Alabama Public Television) this fall for middle schoolers. It’s called Alabama STEM Explorers, and it gives kids the opportunity to learn STEM and look into the careers of people here in Alabama who are working in the STEM field. We hope this is a first step in the right direction of STEM career awareness and exploration. 

We’re focusing specifically on middle schoolers because this is the age group where we lose the interest of students, especially female students and students of color, in the area of STEM. Now they will have the opportunity through this series to see themselves represented through people working in Alabama STEM careers.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the work of the Alabama STEM Council or STEM education in general?

A: The Alabama Stem Council emphasizes the success of underrepresented groups. Gov. Ivey set us on this path in her executive order forming the STEM Council, and our membership is a reflection of the kind of diversity that will lead to all students attaining success in STEM.