The National Science Foundation allocated $4 million in federal funds to Syracuse University to help recruit and retain underrepresented minority students interested in studying science, technology, engineering and math.

The money will also fund a study focusing on the recruitment, academic success and retention rate of underrepresented minority students in STEM.

“This federal investment will allow Syracuse to use their expertise to help underrepresented communities break into the science and engineering world,” said Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. in a press release.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in the press release she will continue fighting “to ensure New Yorkers have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

The funds come in the wake of confusion over the university’s intentions to rebrand its STEM programs. SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly proposed a STEM branding strategy last spring that left faculty members split over whether it would support STEM disciplines or make non-STEM programs secondary to their STEM counterparts.

SU is an institution partner in the Upstate Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, an alliance that helps historically underrepresented students graduate with baccalaureate degrees in STEM fields, according to the program’s website.

ULSAMP also hosts programs at Clarkson University, Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, State University of New York Monroe Community College and SUNY Onondaga Community College.