By Robert
Becker
Tribune higher education reporter
Published September 18, 2002
Faculty members at two Illinois universities will receive $1
million each from a national institute to help rethink the way universities and
colleges teach science to undergraduates.
Hilary Godwin of Northwestern University and Yi Lu of the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign are among 20 faculty members nationwide to receive a share
of $20 million awarded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The grants, announced Tuesday, come as higher
education--particularly large research universities--struggles to attract
students to the sciences.
"Clearly biology and the other sciences are becoming more important and
relevant," said Peter Bruns, vice president for grants and special programs at
the Hughes Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. "But we still are losing too many
people in science majors and also not touching people who are not going to be
science majors."
Lu, a native of China and a chemical biologist, said he wants to develop
programs that complement traditional teaching methods and get students involved
in research much earlier in their studies.
Lu said the rigid sequence of science courses that traditionally precede the creative opportunities
offered by research tends to discourage students. By nurturing students
early on to develop their own research ideas, Lu thinks he'll be able to
"catch and sustain" the curiosity that students bring to classes.
Lu said the grant will allow him to hire additional staff to help
students develop ideas.
Godwin, an associate professor of chemistry, aims to attract more
minority students. She plans to involve freshmen in a project that will
test lead levels in soil in Chicago. Godwin, who is on leave, could not
be reached for comment.
Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor for research at the University of
Illinois, said the slide in science enrollment is a concern. "It's a
complicated issue," he said. "But there's no question we could rethink
what our students see as we go into the future."
Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune