NORTHRIDGE : CSUN Gets Biology Grant for Minorities

Cal State Northridge has received a $700,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute aimed at increasing the number of minority students graduating in biology.

Joyce Maxwell, acting associate dean of the School of Science and Mathematics, who wrote the proposal for the grant, said she hopes to double the number of American Indians, African Americans and Latinos graduating in biology as well as other sciences over the next four years.

She plans to use the grant to fund research programs for biology students early in their academic careers. Maxwell also intends to closely monitor their academic progress and employ other students as peer advisers.

“Many ethnic minority students come into the program,” Maxwell said. “But their . . . graduation rate is not high.” Last spring, Maxwell said, only five students representing those ethnic groups graduated in biology. The grant includes a stipend for 20 students each year, intended to free them of their off-campus jobs. Students in the program will also travel to national meetings and present their work at national competitions.