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TAPDINTO-STEM
As of Friday, May 2, 2025, the TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance is no longer funded by the National Science Foundation. While the project has come to an unexpected end, the commitment of our students, faculty mentors, leadership and partners to inclusive excellence in STEM continues.

The NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Alliance of Students with Disabilities for Inclusion, Networking, and Transition Opportunities in STEM, also known as the NSF INCLUDES TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance is a nationwide project employing a collective impact approach with dozens of partnering organizations to empower people with disabilities to succeed in STEM disciplines, earn degrees, and enter the STEM workforce. Auburn University is leading this NSF INCLUDES Alliance’s primary partnerships with five institutions of higher education (IHE) that directs regional hubs of collaborating IHEs to address this national need. The hubs are championed by Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, The Ohio State University, the University of Hawaii-Manoa, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and the University of Washington.

On the University of Washington team, DO-IT Director Scott Bellman serves as the UW PI and leads activities of the West Coast Hub. The UW's Eric Chudler serves as a lead mentor and STEM educator. DO-IT’s Eric Trekell serves as a Hub Manager and a UW campus leader. 

The West Coast Hub includes the following institutions:

  • The University of Washington (lead institution)
  • University of Alaska Anchorage
  • San Diego State University
  • San Diego University
  • Point Loma Nazarene University

It provides support to students with disabilities and training and engagement to postsecondary educators and administrators.

The NSF INCLUDES TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance focuses on four main targets:

  • Increasing the quantity of students with disabilities completing associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees in STEM.
  • Facilitating the transition of students with disabilities from STEM degree completion into the STEM workforce.
  • Enhancing communication and collaboration among institutions of higher education, industry, government, national labs, and local communities to address the education needs of students with disabilities in STEM disciplines.

DO-IT's involvement also includes a research component, which will invite TAPDINTO-STEM students to complete a brief survey about work experiences they have had in the recent past. These data will be added to a data set that has been collected over many years from participants of the DO-IT Center’s NSF-funded projects (e.g., AccessSTEM Alliance, AccessComputing Alliance).

DO-IT collaborations with INCLUDES projects are funded by the National Science Foundation (grants #HRD-1834924, #HRD-2119902, and #HRD-2118453). Any questions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal government.