Howard Hughes Medical Institute is one of 53 colleges and universities chosen to receive $50.3 million in awards from Denison University, the nation's largest private supporter of science education from elementary school through postdoctoral studies.

Denison's award, totaling $700,000, will be used for collaborative student-faculty research projects, acquisition of modern scientific equipment and wireless networking capability, and development of courses that enhance "discovery-based learning" in biology and chemistry.

The HHMI awards support programs that reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of science and research, the central role that computers will play in post-genomic biology, and the growing need for biology majors to consider careers other than research--such as teaching science at the elementary of high school level. The grants help colleges develop educational programs in the "new biology," which includes increased use of computers, sophisticated data analysis, and the integration of biology and mathematics for studying molecular and cellular processes.

Denison will use the grant for three key efforts: expanding student summer research with faculty mentors to include rising sophomores and juniors, developing biology and chemistry courses that emphasize learning by doing (putting theory into practice), and supporting faculty initiatives to engage students, early in their undergraduate careers, with the central issues of contemporary science.

Denison President Dale T. Knobel said, in acknowledging the HHMI award: "Our number one priority at Denison is to provide students opportunities to 'do' science as a practicing scientist would, and to work closely with faculty mentors, on timely research questions. We are grateful that Howard Hughes support will permit beginning students in biology and chemistry to experience the excitement of scientific discovery through active, hands-on learning. Those who are interested in working with a faculty research collaborator in the summer will now be able to do so following their first year, instead of having to wait three years."

"The colleges and universities receiving these grants contribute greatly to the education of both scientists and nonscientists," said HHMI President Thomas R Cech. "These grants will help them do what they do best--providing undergraduate research opportunities and building bridges between the sciences and the humanities."

The 53 colleges and universities receiving HHMI awards are located in 22 states and Puerto Rico. Only one other Ohio institution, Kenyon College in Gambier, received an HHMI award this year.

This round of grants brings to $476 million the total awarded to 232 colleges and universities by HHMI since 1988.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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