Power of SUNY

National Award Lets More UB Students Engage with Buffalo Community & Schools

Thanks to a new grant, "Bringing Theory to Practice," from the Association of American Colleges and Universities, UB's Undergraduate Academies announced in Jan. 2011 that it will be offering sophomores, in addition to freshmen, the chance to participate in civic engagement projects in the Buffalo Public Schools.

Starting Fall 2012, interested sophomores moving into William R. Greiner Hall, the new residence hall on UB's North Campus, will have the opportunity to work with students at Buffalo's Native American Magnet School 19 and the Seneca Math Science and Technology Preparatory School (Seneca MST), helping students in fifth through 12th grades do more science and become more interested in it.

The grant provides additional resources for the UB/BPS Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP), which has been existence at the two middle schools since 2007 under the direction of Joseph A. Gardella, PhD, the John and Frances Larkin Professor of Chemistry in UB's College of Arts and Sciences.

The goal of ISEP is to increase dramatically the number of Buffalo public school students who graduate from high school interested in - and ready for - attending college with an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. At the same time, the academies are committed to enhancing fully the UB undergraduate experience by enriching students' personal and intellectual development.