William Paterson University Receives $25,000 Grant from Beckton Dickinson to Support the WISE Program, Undergraduate Research Symposium and Student Scholarships

William Paterson University received a $25,000 grant from Becton Dickinson (BD), one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world, that will fund student scholarships, the Undergraduate Research Symposium, and WISE, the Women in Engineering and Science Program in the College of Science and Health.

“We are deeply grateful to BD for their continued generosity,” says Pamela Ferguson, president of the William Paterson University Foundation, and vice president, Institutional Advancement. “These funds will offer much-needed support for our diverse community of students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.”

Of the $25,000, BD has designated $10,000 toward an endowed scholarship fund for deserving full-time undergraduate and graduate students in the College of Science and Health. Another $10,000 will go towards the University’s annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, where the best and brightest undergraduates from the tristate area present their original research. Students present on a range of subject matters, from biology and chemistry to expanded areas like ecological and environmental health.

With BD’s support of $5,000 for the WISE program, talented women interested in majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science and mathematics will have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and explore careers in science. The program will enable them to attend symposiums, both local and national, as well as attend WISE lectures on the William Paterson campus featuring women who have reached prominence from all science disciplines.

“When possible in person or using virtual resources, the upcoming WISE lectures will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Venkat Sharma, dean of the College of Science and Health. “We hope to bring experts in the field of health and science to present on their experiences and/or how they predict our ‘new normal’ will play out.”

10/13/20