WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS Grant total surpasses $38 million July 2, 2004 KALAMAZOO--With one month left to count in the 2003-04 fiscal year, grants to Western Michigan University have surpassed $38 million. According to a report presented to the WMU Board of Trustees June 30, grants to the University during March, April and May totaled $6,134,737 and brought the year-to-date total of such external support to $38,128,102. Grants received during June must still be tallied to arrive at the year-end total for 2003-04. More than $500,000 of the awards received during three-month period is for projects focused on improving research experiences and opportunities for young academics. They include: $215,999 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Dr. Gyula Ficsor, professor emeritus, and Dr. Leonard C. Ginsberg, professor, both in the Department of Biological Sciences, to engage underrepresented minority science majors from four community colleges in education and research activities. $78,380 from the National Science Foundation to Dr. Osama Abudayyeh, associate professor, and Dr. Jawahar Nesa Lenin, assistant professor, in the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering to support their department's use as a site providing Research Experiences for Undergraduates to boost the number of minority students engaged in engineering research through an intensive 10-week summer experience. $75,000 also from the NSF to Dr. Daniel Kujawski, associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering to establish a similar Research Experiences for Undergraduates site in his department. $160,774 from the University of Michigan to Dr. Steven Bertman, associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. David N. Karowe, associate professor of biological sciences, to support the work of doctoral students working in the biospheric and atmospheric sciences. Another series of grants is aimed at improving mathematics and science education in middle schools and high schools. The awards include: A $310,277 award from the NSF to WMU science education specialists Dr. David W. Rudge, Dr. William W. Cobern and Dr. Robert H. Poel, to continue their work on preservice and professional development programs to enlist, equip and empower middle school science teachers. Two grants totaling $352,465 from McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. to Dr. Christian R. Hirsch to support salaries, participant and meeting costs and other expenses associated with the revision of the Core-Plus Mathematics Project, a high school mathematics curriculum under development at WMU for more than a decade. Also reported to the board were a series of four instruction grants totaling nearly $700,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for the preparation of professionals to work with special needs populations. The awards include: $299,932 to Dr. Annette C. Skellenger, associate professor of blindness and low vision studies, and Dr. Elizabeth Whitten, professor of educational studies, to prepare professional personnel for certification to teach and provide orientation and mobility training for children with visual impairments. $191,421 to Whitten for programs aimed at general education practitioners pursuing special education endorsements or special educators currently working with emergency or temporary certificates. $191,327 to Dr. Yvette Hyter, assistant professor, Dr Michael J. Clark, professor, and Dr. Nickola W. Nelson, professor, all of the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, to increase the supply of professionals from diverse cultural and ability groups to serve children with high-incidence disabilities. $148,392 to Dr. Jennipher Wiebold, assistant professor of blindness and low vision studies, to fund training of students headed for careers as rehabilitation counselors. Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news