The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) recently awarded Georgetown University’s Paduano Distinguished Professor
Joseph Neale a $1.8 million dollar grant, continuing more than a decade of support for two longstanding university initiatives in science education. The programs, pre-college and undergraduate, foster an appreciation for the sciences and other disciplines among students through mentorship, specialized curriculum and social and cultural development. The four-year grant is part of HHMI’s $86.4 million investment in bold and innovative science education programs at 50 research universities across the country.
“Georgetown College has a long history of engaging undergraduate science majors in advanced research,” Neale said. “Building on that tradition, we have established an intensive research experience for biology majors considering careers in research. This program has been foundational in raising undergraduate commitment to and university support for advanced research across departments. We plan to build on this momentum to advance undergraduate education at Georgetown in the coming years. In parallel, our pre-college program is arguably the most successful outreach initiative in the country based on the high school graduation and college entry rates of the inner city students whom we serve.”
Thomas Bullock, assistant to the president for DC initiatives, established Georgetown’s pre-college program to help at-risk African American middle school students pursue a college education. Students join the program in seventh grade and continue through their senior year of high school and into college. Attending classes at the university every Saturday during the academic year and for five weeks each summer, participating students take courses in science, mathematics, English and Spanish. The program also offers training in other practical areas, including study skills and the college application process. In addition to academic development, the pre-college program aims to increase growth in other areas of the students’ lives including self-confidence, motivation, social and cultural experience and parental support. To date, three groups of program participants have completed the pre-college program, graduating high school in 1995, 2001 and 2005. Ninety-six percent of those students have gone on to college.
Through the undergraduate programs in teaching and research, Neale has helped foster interest in biomedical research careers and in science teaching among undergraduate biology majors. The Undergraduate Research Scholars Program is an intensive four-year biomedical research experience that sustains and enhances student interest in a research career while fostering an appreciation for the challenges and satisfaction that are associated with this line of work. For the duration of the program, biology faculty and medical center scientists serve as research mentors to all participating students. The Undergraduate Teaching Scholars Program engages students in three semesters of teaching exercises under the direction of a biology faculty member. The coursework exposes students to advanced teaching strategies and then asks them to apply those strategies in an urban secondary school setting.
This year, HHMI invited 214 research universities to compete for the undergraduate science education awards. A panel of leading scientists and educators, including HHMI professors and an HHMI investigator, selected this year’s recipients from a pool of 158 applicants.
“We believe it is vital to bring fresh perspectives to the teaching of established scientific disciplines and to develop novel courses in emerging areas, such as computational biology, genomics, and bio-imaging,” said Thomas R. Cech, HHMI president. “Our grantee universities are providing hands-on research experiences to help prepare undergraduates, including women and minorities underrepresented in the sciences, for graduate studies and for careers in biomedical research, medicine, and science education. We also hope these grants will help the universities increase the science literacy of their students, including non-science majors.”
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), established in 1953 by the aviator-industrialist, is a nonprofit medical research organization dedicated to discovering and disseminating new knowledge in the basic life sciences. Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., the institute is one of the largest philanthropies in the world, with an endowment of $14.8 billion at the close of its 2005 fiscal year. HHMI has supported undergraduate science education at the nation’s colleges and universities since 1988. Through its undergraduate grants, the institute has provided 247 institutions of higher learning with nearly $700 million for programs that include undergraduate research opportunities; new faculty, courses and labs; teaching and mentoring training; and work with pre-college students and teachers. For additional information, visit: http://www.hhmi.org/.
