GIVINGBACK
B E Q U E S T S, GIFTS AND DONATIONS
NSF Grant to Fund STEM Education Scholarships The National Science Foundation has awarded Hood College $650,000 from its Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program to fund a project called “Interdisciplinary STEM Education and Mentoring for Transitioning to STEM Success.”
Department of Education Grant Bolsters Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies Program The U.S. Department of Education has awarded $120,000 through its Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Languages (UISFL) Grant to bolster Hood’s Arabic and Middle Eastern studies program. The money will fund a project called “Creating Global Citizens of the 21st Century,” which will strengthen the major, minor and certificate in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, and expose Hood students to the global community locally. This project was critical to foster more graduates in foreign language positions, including in government intelligence. Faculty will revise and create courses to include perspectives from multiple disciplines. For example, Professor Donald Wright, Ph.D., director of this project, will integrate STEM in a course on cultures of the Middle East to include talks about the impact of climate change on the area, the history and evolution of math and the importance of cybersecurity in diplomatic relations with the Middle East and North Africa region. Some courses will be co-taught by professors from different departments. Professors Paige Eager, Ph.D., and Corey Campion, Ph.D., will be teaching a course together on the history of U.S. foreign relations. Students will learn about cultural differences and cultural understanding, including nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, class and religion. They will also work with Arabic-speaking immigrants in the community on oral histories. 32
HOOD MAGA ZINE
This is the first NSF S-STEM scholarship grant awarded to Hood. From the 277 proposals submitted, Hood’s was selected for one of 85 new scholarships in STEM that will be awarded by the NSF’s Division of Undergraduate Education this year. “This is national recognition of the strength of the STEM programs at Hood College,” said Professor Kevin Bennett, Ph.D., who will oversee implementation of the grant. The funding will support high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need. Throughout the five-year award, this project will fund 12 four-year scholarships and six two-year scholarships for students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, computer science or computational science. The four-year scholarships will begin in fall 2019, and the two-year scholarships will start in fall 2021. The scholarships will average $7,500 per academic year.
Program elements include faculty and peer mentoring to assist students as they progress throughout their academic careers, peer-led tutoring, first-year seminar and research methods courses, and a summer transition program to prepare rising juniors (including transfer students) for an increase in rigor as they move to upperdivision course work. “President Andrea Chapdelaine and Provost Debbie Ricker have a long history of support of the STEM disciplines,” said Bennett. “Without this foundation of commitment to strengthen and grow STEM at Hood College, this grant would not have been successful.”
NEH Grants $100,000 for Humanities Seminar The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted Hood more than $100,000 for a three-week seminar focused on World War I. Professors Trevor Dodman, Ph.D., (pictured on right) and Corey Campion, Ph.D., (left) will lead the seminar, called “World War I in History and Literature,” for 16 school teachers and will introduce new ways to teach about the war. It will take place July 8-26, 2019, and secondary education teachers will receive a stipend to travel to Hood and stay on campus. The program builds on Campion’s and Dodman’s work with Maryland secondary school teachers through Hood’s interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Humanities program, and it will help teachers design lessons consistent with the National Common Core Standards.
Week one will include a field trip to Washington, D.C., to visit World War I memorials including Pershing Park. Week two will feature guest lectures on the history of women and World War I, and new pedagogy practices.
