Saint Michael's receives $183,000 Alden Trust grant to renovate biology labs

With ever more science majors and a new Environmental Studies program, Saint Michael's College needed to expand its science laboratory space. The college learned last week that it was the recipient of a grant for $182,700 from the George I. Alden Trust of Worcester, Mass., which will enable the college to move forward quickly with renovations to the SMC Cheray Science Hall. Completion of the work is expected over the summer of 2010.
It s difficult to find foundations that are willing to fund infrastructure, said Dr. Karen Talentino, SMC vice president for academic affairs. For an institution our size, this grant can have a major impact for our students; we are really thrilled with to receive this, she added. Alden has been very supportive of Saint Michael s in the past, and we are grateful for their understanding of the needs of liberal arts colleges, said Dr. Talentino.
Upgrade bio labs, turn physical science spaces into labs, create two offices
The funds will be put to use this summer to upgrade two heavily used biology labs, making them into flexible learning spaces with upgraded technology. Additionally, two underused physical science spaces will be expanded into teaching and research laboratories, and two new faculty offices will be constructed out of existing spaces to accommodate two new science faculty members who will be joining the faculty over the next two years.
Increased student interest in the new Environmental Studies program, in engineering and in biology call for more faculty in math and science. The new spaces will accommodate the faculty and the courses. New teaching styles require spaces that enhance student-faculty research, collaborative experiments, increased technology and interaction between students and faculty.
Interest in sciences has grown markedly over the past ten years, Dr. Talentino said, in terms of numbers of majors, proportion of majors in relation to other discipline, and total number of enrollments. These renovations will support that growth.
Liberal arts colleges prepare students for science Ph.D. programs
Saint Michael s has a strong record of preparing science graduates to continue their science studies at major Ph.D. programs. According to the National Science Foundation small classes, close faculty-student interaction, and the interdisciplinary learning that are prominent at liberal arts colleges, contribute to strong and effective science education. The NSF data indicates that liberal arts colleges as a group produce about twice as many eventual science Ph.D. s per graduate as do baccalaureate institutions in general, and the top colleges compete successfully with the best research universities in the production of science Ph.D. s.
Supports SMC science requirement
Saint Michael s requires a natural science course with a lab of all students, to give them an appreciation of the impact of science and technology in our lives. By renovating two of the most heavily used laboratories in the biology department, six classes with a total enrollment of nearly 400 students will be impacted each year.
Supports SMC partnerships with K-12 schools
The new laboratories will also benefit the many regional K-12 schools, students and teachers that partner with Saint Michael s on science outreach programs, and collaborative work with other colleges. For example, one current program is Biology in Elementary Schools, a service-learning course that fosters connections between Saint Michael's College education majors and partner schools in the Burlington area.
Learn What Matters at Saint Michael s College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu . Saint Michael s provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael s College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America s top college towns. It is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation s Best 371 Colleges, and will be included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael s is one of only 270 colleges and universities nationwide, one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael s has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael s students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation s Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Source: Saint Michael's. 6.7.2010
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