2008 Woodie Awards
Drew awarded prestigious $1.1 million science grant
Allison Abbot
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
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"One of the themes we came up with for the new program was looking at teaching science using a 'great challenges of science' focus," Associate Professor of Biology and Biology Department Chair Roger Knowles said. Students who want to become scientists often do so in order to help solve problems that society faces, such as disease's and industry's impact on the environment. According to Knowles, the new curriculum deals with these types of real-world challenges. "We are going to initially focus on Alzheimer's disease as a theme and use it as a framework for lectures, labs and research."
New courses may include a freshman or sophomore seminar concerning relevant issues, rather than just the general survey courses Drew provides. These classes, along with lectures from national experts, may help inspire more students to major in the sciences. The science departments will also add courses dedicated to independent research performed by faculty-student teams, some of which will extend into the summer. Drew already has a summer research program, the Drew Science Summer Institute, which will work alongside the new program.
HHMI dedicates itself to educating and encouraging the future scientists of America. University Provost Pamela Gunter-Smith said HHMI "does a number of things, but it's primarily involved in supporting research." The organization accomplishes this by "providing funds to liberal arts institutions like Drew to support undergraduate science teaching," she said.
Every other year, HHMI has a proposal competition to which schools must be invited in order to apply for a grant. Over the past two years, faculty members from the various science departments worked together, to discuss the future of the sciences at Drew, Gunter-Smith said. HHMI distributed 224 invitations but awarded only 48 grants. "The average award of the grants is between $1 million and $1.5 million," Gunter-Smith said. "They look for schools that already have a track record and want to do innovative and new things. They want to put their money where they think they'll be making a good investment." HHMI donates $80 million to science education each year, of which Drew has received $1.1 million to be dispensed over the next four years.
Drew has been invited to apply before, but HHMI has not awarded the University any money until this year. Since gaining both a new University president and provost, the administration has aimed to improve the sciences at Drew. Their leadership has helped make it possible for Drew to receive the grant this time around. Gunter-Smith says that "this was very much a collaborative effort."
If Drew makes creative, successful changes in its science education, the University can probably re-apply after the four-year period is up. Since the HHMI award is so prestigious, Gunter-Smith believes that Drew's having earned this grant "will help us to attract more funds to support all Drew programs." She says, "It's going to have far-reaching implications, not just for science students, but for all Drew students. I'm really excited, because I know how transformative it's going to be."
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