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May 18, 2004

WOOSTER, Ohio - An $800,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) will enable The College of Wooster to broaden science outreach and access with a four-pronged program that includes the establishment of an on-campus resource center for elementary school science teachers in and around Wooster.

"We're really excited," says Judy Amburgey-Peters, associate professor of chemistry and coordinator for the grant. "This generous grant will have a significant impact on our efforts to make science more accessible at a variety of levels.

"The science resource center is particularly attractive," adds Amburgey-Peters. "There have been a number of changes in science standards set by the state in recent years, and many teachers, especially those at the elementary level, are feeling a bit overwhelmed. The resource center will serve as a central point of coordination for community teachers and give them access to several modules, which will equip them with appropriate materials to present different science topics."

In addition to the resource center, the HHMI grant will provide for summer workshops, in which College of Wooster faculty members will work with teachers to demonstrate the use of modules and explain the subject matter in detail, as well as College of Wooster students who will be available to accompany the module and assist with on-site presentations.

A second component of the grant is the establishment of a new faculty position in neurobiology. "Several of our students have expressed an interest in neuroscience," says Amburgey-Peters. "Prior to the grant, it was difficult to support this interest, but now students will have greater opportunities to develop a self-designed major."

A third component provides additional funding for summer student research. Already a significant facet of Wooster's curriculum, summer research will be enhanced by the HHMI grant through the addition of a collaborative component with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and the Wooster Clinic. "We have had a long and very productive relationship with the OARDC, but our association with the Wooster Clinic will be new," says Amburgey-Peters. "It will further enhance student interest both in the clinical and research aspects of medicine."

A fourth component is curriculum development. The grant will provide funds to support equipment purchases for course-embedded research modules in various science courses.

Wooster was one of three Ohio schools (Hiram and Kenyon were the other two) and 42 baccalaureate and master's degree institutions in 17 states and Puerto Rico to receive a grant, which is intended to support programs that improve undergraduate science, from new courses in hot fields, such as bioinformatics and computational biology, to fellowships for postdoctoral researchers that include teaching experiences, and a mobile teaching laboratory to bring science to disadvantaged and minority students in remote areas. HHMI awarded $49.7 million in grants this year, bringing its total investment in undergraduate science to more than $606 million.

"It is truly gratifying for Wooster to receive another major grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute," says Wooster President R. Stanton Hales. "The earlier grant resulted in significant strengthening to our programs, especially in biology and
chemistry, and we anticipate equivalent benefits this time to science outreach and to the new program in neuroscience. This recognition by the Institute speaks highly of the respect in which Wooster's science programs are held on a national level."

The 2004 grants support a range of activities to strengthen undergraduate science education and, in many cases, build upon initiatives the Institute has supported in previous rounds of undergraduate awards. The new grants reflect the Institute's continuing commitment to the objectives of enhancing the quality of undergraduate science education and broadening access for all students, including women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

"One of the primary objectives of the grant is to increase access and retention in the sciences," says Amburgey-Peters. "We all have a natural curiosity about the world around us. This grant will give students an opportunity to pursue their interests."

Although its investigators conduct research at universities and medical schools, HHMI supports science at colleges because they also play a vital role in education, according to Peter Bruns, vice president for grants and special programs at HHMI. "Good science can be done in different settings, in colleges as well as universities," he says. "Colleges are a better learning environment for some students, and they serve underrepresented minorities extremely well."

HHMI invited 198 public and private baccalaureate and master's institutions to compete for the new awards. They were selected for their record of preparing students for graduate education and careers in research, teaching, or medicine. A panel of distinguished scientists and educators reviewed proposals and recommended the 42 awards approved by the Institute's Board of Trustees earlier this month.