A List
10/30/00

MCGRAW FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANT TO ST. LAWRENCE

CANTON, N.Y. -- St. Lawrence University has been awarded a challenge 
grant of $75,000 from the McGraw Foundation in Northbrook, Illinois, 
for its Integrated Science Education Initiative (ISEI).
	The award is a one-to-one challenge grant, meaning that in order 
to receive the full grant, the University must raise an additional $75,000 
over the next three years from other external sources. In turn, the 
University is also matching the grant through institutional funds by 
establishing two new ISEI staff positions.
	St. Lawrence's ISEI is a comprehensive science education initiative 
that will transform the way its students learn and understand science by 
increasing the frequency and level of "hands-on," in-depth field study and 
integrating it across science disciplines through all four years of 
undergraduate study. The total cost of the initiative is estimated at 
$1.18 million; the McGraw Foundation grant will assist with funding and 
raising the approximate start-up costs, of $300,000.
	"St. Lawrence University and the McGraw Foundation share a commitment 
to strengthening and improving the quality of science and environmental 
education," commented University President Daniel F. Sullivan. "One of the 
best ways to do that is to increase opportunities for hands-on learning, and 
this challenge grant from the McGraw Foundation will help St. Lawrence to 
achieve that goal. I'm very grateful for their support in this important 
initiative."
	The site for the ISEI is the 300-acre Little River area of the 
St. Lawrence campus.  Faculty and students will develop a series of 
geographically referenced field science sites for ongoing study and data 
collection, forming a long-term, multi-disciplinary Geographic Information 
Systems (GIS) database, which will represent the collection and study of a 
wide variety of conditions and habitats over time and will be shared and 
maintained by faculty and students from throughout the sciences, including 
biology, chemistry, geology, environmental studies, mathematics and psychology. 
	The first grant installment from the McGraw Foundation has funded the 
creation of a GIS workstation laboratory in the University's Launders Science 
Library.
	The McGraw Foundation supports education, science, medical research, 
health, civic affairs, cultural development, social services, and the 
environment.

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