Contact(s):  
Scott Linneman, geology professor, (360) 650-7207Scott.Linneman@wwu.edu
Susan Bergman, Mount Vernon School District curriculum director, (360) 428-6183
Sandy Austin, Nooksack Valley School District assistant superintendent, (360) 988-4754

BELLINGHAM – A new $1.9 million grant awarded to Western Washington University by the National Science Foundation will allow for the recruitment of the nation’s top student scholars to conduct graduate research in science and work in middle school classrooms in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

“It is extremely rare for a non Ph.D-granting institution to receive this award, which is known nationally as one of the top graduate fellowships in the sciences,” said Arlan Norman, dean of the College of Sciences and Technology at Western. “This is a significant recruitment tool and a tribute to our faculty who have established this fine reputation for our biology, chemistry, geology and physics programs.”

The grant, “Catalysts for Reform: A University-Schools Partnership in Northwest Washington,” covers tuition and stipends for eight WWU graduate student fellows per year for the next three years. Five advanced undergraduates will also be selected each year. Selection of fellows begins in January with their classroom work to follow in fall 2004.

The project involves science teachers at Lummi Elementary and Fairhaven, Kulshan, Shuksan, Whatcom and Nooksack Valley middle schools, and La Venture and Mount Baker middle schools in Mount Vernon. They will receive stipends for participating in a summer science institute and mentoring WWU students in their classrooms, and release time for extra science curriculum development. The grant also covers compensation for a program manager and participation from 10 WWU faculty members.

The purpose of the grant is not to recruit science scholars to become teachers, but to engage future scientists in K-12 education for application of research-based teaching strategies and instill the belief that researchers have a professional obligation to work with the public, said Scott Linneman, WWU geology professor and the grant’s principal investigator.

The project creates opportunities for Western to collaborate with local schools, for WWU science scholars to learn new teaching methods and improve their communication skills, for K-12 teachers to share their expertise and advance their science knowledge, and for K-12 students to benefit from this progressive teaching and learning partnership.

“You get a sense as a scholar of how well you really know your subject when you’re faced with the challenge of explaining a science concept to a 12-year-old,” Linneman said.

This new grant follows $12 million from the National Science Foundation awarded to WWU this fall to create a science teaching/learning partnership with Puget Sound community colleges and K-12 schools.