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NSU gets $1M grant from medical institute

Posted at 2:16 PM, Jun 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-30 20:30:10-04

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State University received a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute on Friday.

The grant from the medical institute is part of its Inclusive Excellence Initiative. NSU says they are one of 33 colleges and universities selected nationwide to receive the grant.

“While NSU has been engaged in course-based undergraduate research for some time, this kind of collaborative approach integrated across all four years of our curriculum is new,” said Dr. Ashley Haines, associate professor of biology and program director. “We believe the result will be the production of exceptionally well-trained, experienced scientists who are ready to join the workforce.”

The money will be used to engage students in science while they are undergraduates at the university, according to NSU.

The school’s biology faculty members and students have been engaging in a research project, where students are collecting samples on the Elizabeth River’s eastern branch, in efforts to assess a wide variety of parameters from water quality to biodiversity.

Projects like these, and the grant that was recently given, are efforts to help all students work together and be interested in science-based programs university officials say.

“But equally important,” said Haines, “is that it will encourage the University and our community partners to treat our students as real scientists. In this sense, the focus of the grant is not just on student learning, but also on teaching our institution and our community about the incredible potential of NSU students and faculty and the power of collaboration.”