WMU News

Nearly $3.8 million in grants received

April 23, 1999

KALAMAZOO-- More than 70 grants totaling nearly $3.8 million were awarded to Western Michigan University in the first three months of this year, according a report presented to the University's Board of Trustees at its April 23 meeting.

Grants received by WMU in January, February and March totaled $3,391,111, bringing the total of grants received since the July 1 start of the fiscal year to $72,142,004.

A $598,037 grant from Emirates Airlines to the University's School of Aviation Sciences was the largest grant received during the period. The funds will be used to continue pilot training for Emirates cadets at the International Pilot Training Centre, located at the school's Battle Creek facility. The first Emirates cadets began training at WMU last summer and up to 32 more cadets are expected in the coming year.

A number of federal grants from agencies including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will boost several research projects and academic activities at the University. Among the federal grants reported were:

A $189,388 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to Gregory A. Moorehead, project coordinator at the Center for Academic Support Programs, to provide low-income, first-generation and handicapped college students with comprehensive academic and personal support.

A $170,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to Dr. Marc W. Perkovic, assistant professor of chemistry, to develop molecules that indicate the presence of environmental contaminants through luminescence and to provide undergraduate students with laser-based experimentation opportunities. This is the first phase of a four-year $380,000 Career Award grant made to Perkovic by the NSF. Perkovic also received a $25,000 grant from the American Chemical Society for this research.

A $170,000 grant from the U.S. Information Agency to Dr. Katherine Joslin, director of WMU's American Studies program; Dr. John Saillant, assistant professor of English; and Dr. Brian Wilson, assistant professor of comparative religion, to provide a summer institute designed to teach American culture to university educators from other nations.

A $98,141 grant from the NSF to Dr. Steven B. Bertman, assistant professor of chemistry, to involve undergraduate students and post-doctoral researchers in the development of instrumentation to measure peroxyacyl nitrates in an effort to gauge the impact of urban smog.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded several grants to WMU researchers including a $145,596 grant made to Sandra O. Glista, clinical supervisor in speech pathology and audiology, and Dr. Maija Petersons, associate professor of family and consumer sciences, to continue their efforts to prepare students to serve the elderly in underserved rural areas and among multicultural populations. Cindee Peterson, chairperson of the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Dr. Richard G. Cooper, associate professor of occupational therapy, received a $112,437 grant to continue their work in preparing occupational therapists to work in school-based health centers.

A number of academic initiatives involving Michigan school districts and students also received funding. Dr. James J. Bosco, professor of education and professional development, received a $166,250 grant from the Berrien County Intermediate School District to assist schools in implementing the human infrastructure needed to integrate technology into the classroom.

Dr. Robert I. Moss, associate professor of health, physical education and recreation, was awarded funding totaling $143,790 from various health and educational agencies, to provide students with internship placements as athletic trainers.

Diana Hernandez, director of the Martin Luther King Jr./Cesar Chavez/Rosa Parks Program, was awarded a $104,678 grant from the Michigan Department of Education, to introduce the potential of a college education to school children who are underrepresented in postsecondary education.

A residential Summer Institute for Arts and Sciences for high school students will be funded by an $86,600 grant from the Michigan State Board of Education and Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency. The funds were awarded to Dr. Melissa Gibson, assistant professor of communication, and Todd T. Hufford, coordinator of campus programming. The institute they direct will bring 120 gifted 10th and 11th graders from across the state to WMU for two weeks in July.
Other grants received include:

Two awards, totaling $209,900, from the Louisiana Board of Regents to Dr. Jay Means, chairperson of the Department of Chemistry, for his research in ecotoxicology;

A $97,826 grant from the U.S. Department of Education awarded to Dr. William Wiener, chairperson of the Department of Blind Rehabilitation, and Dr. Alan Hovestadt, professor of counselor education and counseling psychology, to support WMU's interdisciplinary masters' degree program in rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation teaching; and

An $88,226 NSF grant awarded to Dr. Michelle Kominz, assistant professor of geosciences, to gain information about the late Cenozoic period by studying new wells drilled in the New Jersey coastal plain.

Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu


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