SDSU awarded $145 million
TUESDAY November 1, 2011 Volume 97, Issue 38 W W W.T H E D A I LYA Z T E C . C O M
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SDSU’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT N E W S PA P E R SINCE 1913
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Kevin Smead staff writer During the last academic year, San Diego State was awarded $145.2 million in contracts and research grants. This figure is comparable to the amount of grant money received the previous academic year, which totaled $151 million. In a statement issued, SDSU president, Dr. Elliot Hirshman, noted the importance of SDSU’s small research programs, saying it is “affecting lives in San Diego, throughout California, and around the world.” The money for the grants came from a variety of sources and is being put to use in a number of different fields. The National Science Foundation issued SDSU a total of 51 grants for a sum of $8,952,230. Part of this money
funds the work of SDSU biology professor Forest Rohwer. Rohwer and his team are working to stop the destruction of the world’s coral reefs caused by climate change and overfishing, which he says are almost 30 percent destroyed with an additional 50 percent of the reefs in danger. Rohwer is also looking at viral sequences in stressed coral, which come in the form of an ancient herpes-like virus. Another major source of funding came from the National Institutes of Health, which gave $32.2 million. The NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the major medical research agency for the nation. The NIH is comprised of 27 different institutes and centers, all focusing on different research areas. Associated to SDSU is the National Heart, Lung and BloodInstitute, as well as the National Cancer Institute. The funding from these institutions will go to specific projects such as Mark
A few highlights in 2009-2010 Fundraising SDSU received $151 million ($18.7 million from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, which also provided $9.3 million in 2010-2011). National Institute of Health awarded a combined $32,206,815 through 103 grants National Science Foundation awarded a combined $8,952,230 through 51 grants SDSU researchers received a total of 799 awards, totaling $145,180,000
Sussman’s studies on heart failure and myocardial cellular survival, and Elva Arredondo’s work addressing the high rates of cancer and other chronic dis-
eases in the Latino population by promoting physical activity. Additionally, the Small Business Administration provided $599,978 to the “Advanced Defense Technologies Cluster,” which helps develop new equipment for the U.S. military. San Diego is one of three regions to receive this award. The contract is locally focused, as the work is done in conjunction with businesses in San Diego. The ADTC encompasses a number of different fields, with as focus in areas such as cyber security, communications and renewable energy. The overall goal of the program is to help small businesses based in San Diego expand into the worldwide defense marketplace. Since 2005, SDSU has been ranked as the No. 1 small-research university in the nation according to the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.
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Conference to spur college interest Information session hopes to motivate high school students Bill Crotty news editor On Saturday, the Hispanic Business Student Association is hosting its second annual high school conference to promote higher education and inspire students to pursue a college degree after high school. “We have different workshops that are going to provide help for students and inspire them to stay in school, keep going to school and reach a higher education,” Shastity Urias, a co-coordinator of the event, said. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Exercise and Nutritional Science building on campus. Last year, about 50 students attended the conference, but more than 200 are expected at this week’s event. The conference is a necessity because Hispanic students have one of the highest high school dropout rates. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, Hispanic students had a dropout rate of 17.6 percent in 2009, 4 percent higher than the next most likely group.
To help decrease this statistic, high school students will be able to meet SDSU students and talk to them about a variety of topics that will prepare high school students for college and encourage them to attend. “The (high school) students will be able to talk about scholarships and how they can get them, different ways to become involved in college and organizations, and the opportunities available to them,” Urias said. According to Urias there would be information about different community colleges, in case students are not prepared for a four-year university experience yet. Part of the conference will focus on transferring to a four-year school after starting in community college. The keynote speaker for the event will be Geena the Latina, a co-host of the Frankie and Geena morning radio show, who, according to the HBSA, has worked through many obstacles in her life and stayed involved with her native culture. Also on the agenda are workshops about studying abroad, Latina leadership, entrepreneurship and how to pay for college. HBSA won both the Excellence in Marking Award and the Outstanding Organization Award at the 2011 Future Rising Business Leaders Awards.
Status dropout rates of 16- through 24-year-olds in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1980-2009 ASIAN/ PACIFIC AMERICAN INDIAN ISLANDER /ALASKAN NATIVE
YEAR
TOTAL
WHITE
BLACK
HISPANIC
1980
14.1
11.4
19.1
35.2
—
—
1985
12.6
10.4
15.2
27.6
—
—
1990
12.1
9.0
13.2
32.4
4.9
16.4
1995
12.0
8.6
12.1
30.0
3.9
13.4
1998
11.8
7.7
13.8
29.5
4.1
11.8
1999
11.2
7.3
12.6
28.6
4.3
‡
2000
10.9
6.9
13.1
27.8
3.8
14.0
2001
10.7
7.3
10.9
27.0
3.6
13.1
2002
10.5
6.5
11.3
25.7
3.9
16.8 15.0
2003
9.9
6.3
10.9
23.5
3.9
2004
10.3
6.8
11.8
23.8
3.6
17.0
2005
9.4
6.0
10.4
22.4
2.9
14.0
2006
9.3
5.8
10.7
22.1
3.6
14.7
2007
8.7
5.3
8.4
21.4
6.1
19.3
2008
8.0
4.8
9.9
18.3
4.4
14.6
2009
8.1
5.2
9.3
17.6
3.4
13.2
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2011-033), Indicator 20.
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