Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education

Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.

Mississippi State University received a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support programs aimed to encourage young women to enter science-based computer fields. The grant will fund the Mississippi Alliance for Women in Computing Project. The program seeks to recruit and retain women in undergraduate computer science majors and to help them make the transition to the workforce. Sarah Lee, a co-principal investigator and assistant clinical professor of computer science and engineering at the university, stated that “one of the biggest parts of attracting underrepresented groups is showing them what is possible and letting them see themselves in those roles.” Dr. Lee holds a Ph.D. from the University of Memphis.

East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, Yale University, and Michigan State University are collaborating on a $598,000 grant project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice to develop interventions for women who are at high risk for intimate partner violence. Principal investigator on the project is Heidi Bonner, an assistant professor of criminal justice at East Carolina University. Dr. Bonner is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree in justice studies from San Jose State University in California, and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.

The University of South Dakota received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support its Coyotes Advocate, Respond, and Educate (CARE) program which focuses on sexual assault prevention and support efforts.

Georgetown University and Virginia Tech are cooperating on a $2 million grant program funded by the National Institutes of Health to create a mathematical model to design targeted therapies for breast cancer patients. The researchers plan to use the model to test different therapies to optimize efforts to combat cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissues.