BGSU and Owens receive grant to produce more scientists

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is teaming with Owens Community College to address the goal of doubling the number of college graduates in the sciences by 2015.

It's "fairly ambitious," stated BGSU associate professor of biology, Dr. Moira van Staaden. "But we need to do it."

Van Staaden and Dr. Anne Bullerjahn, a colleague from Owens and a professor of math and life / natural sciences, hope to do their part as directors of a project funded by the National Science Foundation for up to $2.2 million over five years. Science, Engineering & Technology Gateway Ohio (SETGO) is expected to encompass several hundred Bowling Green and Owens students and faculty in a three-pronged approach to generating more scientists.

The national need stems from an aging work force in the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, explained van Staaden. Her project co-director at BGSU - Dr. Tracy Huziak-Clark, an assistant professor in the School of Teaching and Learning - will assess the project's effectiveness.

While the number of jobs requiring at least a two-year degree in the STEM disciplines is expected to increase by 2020, the number of American college graduates in those fields is declining, van Staaden added.

"It's not just an Ohio problem, but it's particularly acute here because education is problematic in Ohio," she stated, noting that Ohio is in the bottom half of states in its percentages of both STEM graduates and residents with at least a two-year degree.

Research has shown that many students who enter college in math or the sciences then leave those disciplines do so because they weren't prepared for the college-level content they encountered, according to van Staaden. SETGO will begin with a five-week "bridge" course at Owens, taught by Owens faculty, in an attempt to bolster incoming students in math and science, including chemistry and biology.

Owens students sometimes begin their time at the college thinking they're not interested in science, explained Bullerjahn. But, she added, the bridge course is designed to provide an opportunity to learn about different branches of science - including ecology, for example - in a lab-based, hands-on setting.

"I think if we can tap into that interest and show the aspects of science they've never seen before, it will take off for them," Bullerjahn added.

Students in the bridge program will be in groups of 24, further divided into study groups of six people working closely with a peer teaching assistant. Three other Owens faculty members are also involved with the bridge program, which, van Staaden noted, is modeled after BGSU's Academic Investment in Math and Science (AIMS) program for young women and students of color.

"What we're trying to do is recreate the social and academic support connections that AIMS is so good at providing and put it in a framework that will work for a broader demographic," she stated, adding that Owens students are often older than the traditional college-age students served by AIMS.

Following the summer bridge program, SETGO students - who must be American citizens - will be part of a BGSU-based, academic-year learning community called the Art of Science Community. According to van Staaden, evidence suggests that students with other creative interests and outlets tend to be more successful in the sciences and institutions attracting such students can increase their graduation rates.

The learning community will host monthly meetings of faculty and students - to be held alternately at BGSU and Owens - with the theme, "Building a Better Environment."

The two-hour meetings will cut across the sciences, with one hour devoted to a scientific presentation with broad appeal followed by an hour of social programming, according to van Staaden. Video podcasts will be part of the meeting as well.

Faculty - along with BGSU undergraduate and graduate students - can serve as mentors to the Owens students, many of whom the directors hope will transfer to Bowling Green to complete four-year degrees after two years at the community college. "This provides a mechanism for them to transition to BG if they have the desire to do that." van Staaden stated.

Bullerjahn added that BGSU would afford the students more opportunities for research experiences - the third element of SETGO. The idea is for students to work in faculty members' labs during the summer following the academic year in the learning community. The project's success will depend largely on how many faculty members get the students involved with research that piques their interest, explained van Staaden.

The grant offers funds to faculty for materials as well as students stipends.

Copyright Telex Communications, Inc. Sep 2008
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