>newground
The falling ceilings and cramped lab space of IU Kokomo’s old science building were some of the challenges Associate Professor of Biology Christian Chauret had to face while trying to teach his students. But in that building’s replacement, Virgil and Elizabeth Hunt Hall, Chauret has plenty of space (and less chance of a head injury), to teach, do research, and engage his students.
Hunt Hall, which houses the Department of Natural, Information and Mathematical Sciences, now faces a different hurdle: obtaining state-of-the-art equipment to match the state-of-the-art facility. But with a Science Initiative challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation, that hurdle may soon be cleared. The grant, worth a total of $234,000, will be used to purchase and maintain the latest in scientific technology.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to provide students state-of-the-art equipment, so that their science education truly prepares them for future careers,” said Chancellor Ruth Person of the endowment. “IU Kokomo opened a magnificent home for science education in 2001, our Virgil and Elizabeth Hunt Hall. The Kresge Science Initiative challenge grant will let us match the quality of classroom equipment to the quality of our building.”
In the grant proposal to Kresge, IU Kokomo’s current equipment was described as “obsolete…older than the students who are using it.” The campus believed such conditions potentially could “dissuade students from majoring in the sciences and, ultimately, in careers in science.”
Thanks to the Kresge Foundation, such concerns will be a thing of the past. The first $117,000 of the grant, scheduled for July 2004, will be used to buy equipment for the biology, chemistry, and physics classes. The second $117,000 will only be given if IU Kokomo can raise another $468,000 by January 2005. The additional sum will create an endowment to maintain the new equipment and keep it up-to-date. If all maintenance and replacement needs are met for a given year, Kresge guidelines allow the campus to propose other uses for endowment income, such as scholarships, student/faculty research funds, teaching assistants, and fellowships.
Nancy Dailey, vice chancellor for external relations, says that IU Kokomo’s end of the deal is already in motion. “We will be appealing to all IU Kokomo alumni to help us meet the goal,” she said. “Donations will also be sought through various county committees and campus volunteers.” Dailey notes that a central steering committee to raise the extra $468,000 is close to being formed, with co-chairs to be named in the near future.
The Kresge Foundation, based in Troy, Michigan, is an independent, private foundation that specializes in grants that “strengthen the capacity of charitable organizations to provide effective programs of quality.” With its Science Initiative, Kresge hopes to provide challenge grants that not only update facilities but also raise awareness of the programs these organizations can offer to the community.
Back in the new Hunt Hall, Dr. Chauret has already seen a change in his students: They’re more willing and excited to work and learn. There is no doubt that with the new technology to come, his students will be even more eager to pursue their scientific goals.
>Robert Simic
Read more about Hunt Hall.