JSC has been awarded a $551,810 grant from the National Science Foundation to attract and retain students majoring in either Biology or Environmental Science. The START (Student Transition, Achievement, Retention and Teaching) scholarship provides each START scholar with up to $10,000 per year, with a ceiling of $40,000 over four years.
Professor of Environmental Science Les Kanat of the Department of Environmental and Health Sciences beat out around 80 percent of his fellow applicants in the competitive process.
Kanat has some discretion as to how best to parcel out the money. The funds, according to Kanat, can be used to aid START scholars in a variety of ways, not least of which being able to pay their tuition. Funds are also available to provide them with whatever they may need to succeed, from computer training and living expenses, to course materials and travel expenses. Kanat can also use the funding to take his scholars to national and regional conferences.
The award is a five-year grant, at the end of which Kanat can apply for additional funding. Typically, though not always, these types of grants will be re-awarded to institutions that can demonstrate success with the initial funding.
“My goal is, by funding them, to get them to graduate and to get a job in the sciences, or (to get) an advanced degree in the sciences,” said Kanat. “And, if they do that…I’ll be really successful and could probably bring more money in.”
Kanat said that the immediate impact on JSC will be in improving the college’s ability to retain students through to graduation as well as to attract prospective students. In addition, the scholarships can help recruit scholars who can work on the many research projects in which JSC scientists are currently engaged.
“What I’m looking for,” said Kanat, “are students that are interested in the sciences, that have unmet financial needs, (and) that want to study and do some work.”
Kanat said that additional funds, though not from this particular grant, are available as stipends to students who want to work on research projects over the summer. He said up to $3,000 is available per student for these stipends, and although these are not slated specifically for START scholars, he envisions the stipends dovetailing nicely with the START scholarships.
To qualify for a START scholarship students must major in Biology or Environmental Science, have a cumulative GPA over 3.00, have unmet financial needs as indicated by FAFSA, have fewer than 60 college credits, and be a US citizen, a permanent resident or a refugee.
Kanat said that he has six START scholars for this academic year, shy of his goal of nine due to the limited amount of time after receiving the grant in June. “We just need more students who want to play,” said Kanat.
