Rep. Pascrell Announces a National Science Foundation Grant of Nearly $600,000 Awarded to William Paterson University The scholarships will support tutoring, mentoring, and faculty-guided research experiences, career guidance and internships for students WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) today announced a National Science Foundation grant of $590,521 has been awarded to William Paterson University. The funding will be used to provide approximately 14 undergraduate and graduate scholarships in biology and biotechnology fields during the 4 ½ years. “This funding will help prepare students from our area not only to get jobs, but to become leaders in two fields projected to have significant economic growth in the coming years,” said Pascrell, a former educator who has worked on the front lines of the nation’s economic recovery as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “I am extremely proud of the William Paterson University faculty and administration for their dedication to cultivating challenging opportunities for the students they educate. I share their enthusiastic belief in the basic principle that education is the key to a more secure and prosperous future for us all.” “The University is very proud to have received this NSF grant,” says Edward Weil, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at William Paterson University. “Once again the biology faculty have secured new opportunities for our undergraduate and graduate students to advance their career credentials by providing scholarships and participating in active research programs and internships.” The scholarships will be awarded to academically talented, low-income biology and biotechnology undergraduate and graduate students at William Paterson University. Among the program’s goals are increasing the number of biology and biotechnology majors entering research and education careers; increasing the retention and graduation rates of all biology and biotechnology students; increasing the number of minority students in the biology and biotechnology graduate programs by 25 percent; and increasing the number of biology and biotechnology masters degree recipients. The scholarships will support tutoring, mentoring, faculty-guided research experiences, career guidance and internships for the recipients. This program addresses regional and national needs, and enhances the biology and biotechnology programs at William Paterson University by providing opportunities for graduate education for traditionally underrepresented groups. The scholarship program’s results are being disseminated in various ways such as project reports and university publications and press releases. # # # # CONTACTS: Paul Brubaker (Rep. Pascrell), 973-523-5152/201-704-6981-c Mary Beth Zeman (William Paterson University), 973-720-2966
