Programs, Accreditations, & Initiatives

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 4, 1999

Rutgers University is the beneficiary of a scholarship program funded by the Texaco Oil Co. that will provide two four-year scholarships to under-represented minorities who enroll as geology majors.

Each year, the recipients will each receive $5,000 for tuition, $5,000 for living expenses, and $2,500 to conduct research with a faculty mentor -- for a total package of $50,000 over the four years.

A national survey by the American Geological Institute of 425 college geoscience departments during the 1995-96 academic year revealed that minority students were awarded fewer than 35 undergraduate degrees and only four graduate degrees.

"Texaco recognizes that the country's long-term competitiveness depends on a technologically proficient workforce," says Anne Dowling, president of the Texaco Foundation. "As a nation, we need to harness the skills of our future workforce to meet the challenges of the next century. We are pleased to help initiate this program aimed at opening opportunities for talented minority undergraduates to study geology at an institution with an excellent, diverse student body."

Persons interested in the scholarships should contact the program's administrator, geology professor Warren Manspeizer, at (973) 353-5509. His e-mail address is <Mansp@andromeda.rutgers.edu>.

Florida International University in conjunction with the Peace Corps, will offer two new master's programs -- the Masters International Programs -- in an attempt to give students a more hands-on learning experience. The programs will run along two tracks.

Students in the environmental program will receive a master's of science degree in environmental studies with a concentration in biological management. They will be prepared for forestry and environmental education assignments.

Students in the TESOL program -- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages -- will become qualified to teach English at the secondary and higher education levels and to train new teachers.

The university joins 30 other institutions across the country -- including Rutgers University, the University of California-Berkeley, and Tulane University -- which are currently offering such programs. Currently, more than 130 students in 42 countries are working on degrees in public health, natural resources management, environmental education, agriculture, agribusiness, and nonprofit management.

The University of Virginia School of Medicine is creating software that will help people collect accurate and complete family medical histories over the World Wide Web.

The histories are going to be increasingly important in the coming years when the Human Genome Project is finished and doctors know the genetic makeup of their patients. Doctors can better prevent and treat disease if they know how their patients' genes work. But they will need family histories to interpret , genetic information. For many people, even routine medical history questionaires can be difficult to 611 out.