UF-led team wins $1.7 million grant to help minority students earn microbiology degrees

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A team of University of Florida and Miami Dade College faculty members has won a five-year, $1.7 million federal grant to expand a distance-education program enabling MDC students to earn a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from UF.

The grant was announced in August by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education. The grant is part of an NSF effort to increase the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates, known as the STEM Talent Expansion Program.

“We believe this program will allow students to become science graduates who otherwise would be unable to do so for financial or cultural reasons,” said Eric Triplett, principal investigator for the grant and chairman of UF’s microbiology and cell science department, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “This is one of the very few science degrees available by distance education anywhere in the U.S. from a top research university.”

Launched last fall, the program is aimed at students from minority groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM disciplines. It’s based at MDC’s North Campus, where 90 percent of students are Hispanic or African-American.

With the distance-ed option, students can attend UF without relocating to Gainesville, thereby reducing expenses and enabling students to maintain employment and personal responsibilities. These factors could improve retention, said Jennifer Drew, an instructor with the UF microbiology and cell science department and a co-principal investigator.

Drew said the funding will help officials at both institutions improve the existing program by offering new features that may improve retention: scholarships, peer-to-peer tutoring, career mentoring and undergraduate research experiences.

Lecture classes are taught online, but students will do their lab work in person at MDC or one of several UF facilities in South Florida.

The program is open to all students, regardless of ethnicity, who have received an associate of arts degree from MDC and earned minimum grades in prerequisite courses. Beginning next fall, UF plans to offer a similar distance-ed program at community colleges across the state, Triplett said.

At MDC, officials look forward to the opportunities the grant presents, said Heather Belmont, dean of the School of Science.

“MDC and its School of Science are truly excited about NSF’s support of this innovative new way to attract more students into quality science programming,” Belmont said. “We look forward to working closely with UF to promote this partnership.”

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Contacts

Writer: Tom Nordlie, 352-273-3567, tnordlie@ufl.edu

Source: Eric Triplett, 352-392-1906, ewt@ufl.edu

Photo Cutline

Eric Triplett, chairman of the University of Florida’s microbiology and cell science department, poses in his laboratory in this file photo. Triplett led a team of researchers from UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Miami Dade College that secured a five-year, $1.7 million federal grant to expand a distance education program that enables students to earn bachelors’ degrees in microbiology from UF without relocating to Gainesville. Photo by Tyler L. Jones, University of Florida/IFAS

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Posted: September 5, 2012


Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Distance Education, Drew, Miami Dade College, Microbiology, Triplett


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