2. a. The Secretary of Higher Education shall establish the New Jersey “Accessing Careers in Engineering and Science (ACES) Program.” The purposes of the program are to increase the participation of underrepresented students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; and to develop a larger and more diverse STEM workforce in the State. The ACES Program shall consist of two components: (1) a residential pre-college summer program for selected high school students established pursuant to section 3 of this act; and (2) an undergraduate ACES Scholar program established pursuant to section 4 of this act.

b. The secretary shall select up to eight public or independent research universities in New Jersey to implement the ACES Program, based upon the university’s interest in participating in the program and subject to the availability of funds. A public or independent research university that wants to participate shall submit an application to the secretary, which includes a proposal for implementing both the pre-college summer program and the undergraduate ACES Scholar program in accordance with sections 3 and 4 of this act. The university’s proposal shall also include the university’s plans for funding its share of the program costs and for obtaining the necessary private sector funding pursuant to section 5 of this act.

L.2019, c.431, s.2; amended 2021, c.282, s.61.