The Rochester Area Colleges Center for Excellence in Math and Science (RAC-CEMS, or RACCEMS) is an association of 19 post-secondary educational institutions located on the Nazareth College campus in Rochester, NY[1] in west-central New York State.
[2] The RAC-CEMS focuses on the development and delivery of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) topics in K-16 education and supporting programs designed to increase the quality and quantity of the student talent pool pursuing curricula in math, science and related technical fields.
[4] The purpose of the association is to support the functions of career development, placement, and experiential education in the region.
In 2006, Senator Schumer called for Rochester to become a math-science teaching center of excellence and gathered together presidents of Rochester colleges to establish a national math and science teaching center.
[5] In December 2007, the RAC-CEMS was awarded nearly $1,000,000 in federal money to pay for an expansion of teacher-training programs.