QU | Academic Feature
QU Receives
Federal Grants for STEM BIOLOGY by Barbara Schleppenbach, PhD ’71
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CHEMISTRY
The National Science Foundation Grants QU LEADERS Progam
$650,000
NSF GRANT PROVIDES:
• Scholarships for 20 students • Mentoring and enrichment activities • Outreach activities to rural high high schools • Campus STEM career fairs
The leaders of tomorrow are learning on the QU campus today. Now, thanks to two prestigious grants from the federal government, they will have additional support and resources to succeed in the sought-after fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The National Science Foundation awarded $650,000 to the QU LEADERS program for a five-year project to increase recruitment and academic achievement of low-income, academically talented students majoring in the areas of 24
QUniverse | Winter 2019
Biology, Biological Sciences, and Chemistry. LEADERS (Learning with Emphasis on Academics, Developmental Experiences, and Research in STEM) provides scholarships as well as specialized mentoring and enrichment activities to improve retention, graduation rates, and postbaccalaureate success. The grant, which was announced on May 30, 2018, will be directed by Joe Coelho, PhD, professor of biology; Caitlin Deskins, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry, and Michelle Combs, PhD, assistant professor of biology, will also carry out project activities.
