Rockhurst University

CARES ACT FUNDING - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

CARES ACT STUDENT AID

SCHOLARSHIPS AND MENTORING TO ADVANCE RETENTION AND TRAINING IN SUPPORT OF LOW-INCOME STEM STUDENTS -THIS PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONAL NEED FOR WELL-EDUCATED SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, ENGINEERS, AND TECHNICIANS BY SUPPORTING THE RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED AT ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY, A PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY LOCATED IN THE URBAN CORE OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. OVER ITS 6-YEAR DURATION, THIS PROJECT WILL FUND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 20 FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE PURSUING BACHELOR?S DEGREES IN BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, OR PHYSICS. FIRST YEAR STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE UP TO FOUR-YEARS OF SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT AND TRANSFER STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY TWO-YEARS OF SCHOLARSHIPS. THE PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE STUDENT SUCCESS BY USING A COHORT MODEL AND LEVERAGING ENHANCED STUDENT SUPPORT MECHANISMS. STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF ALUMNI AND INDUSTRY CONTACTS TO HELP ENCOURAGE PERSISTENCE IN STEM FIELDS AND STRENGTHEN THEIR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK. IN ADDITION, A CENTRAL COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT IS A FACULTY AND PEER MENTORING PROGRAM CENTERED ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO INCREASE STEM DEGREE COMPLETION OF LOW-INCOME, HIGH-ACHIEVING UNDERGRADUATES WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO: 1) RECRUIT AND ENROLL 20 TOTAL STUDENTS INTO TWO COHORTS, 2) INCREASE STUDENT SUPPORT IN THESE COHORTS WITH A PEER AND FACULTY MENTORING PROGRAM, 3) INCREASE NETWORK CONNECTIONS WITH ALUMNI AND INDUSTRY CONTACTS TO PROMOTE STEM CAREERS, 4) INCREASE 1-YEAR RETENTION AND 4-YEAR GRADUATION RATES FOR STUDENTS IN THESE COHORTS, AND 5) DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGE ON HOW THE COHORT MODEL IMPACTS RETENTION, GRADUATION, AND POST-GRADUATION PLACEMENT IN STEM WORKFORCE OR GRADUATE SCHOOL. COHORT MODELS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN HIGHER EDUCATION TO HELP STUDENTS SUCCEED BUT OFTEN ARE NOT TAILORED FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS AT PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTIONS, WHERE THE PRICE OF TUITION IS OFTEN A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS PROGRAM WILL ALLOW SCHOLARS TO BENEFIT FROM AN INCLUSIVE AND SUPPORTIVE CAMPUS COMMUNITY WHICH WILL INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF PERSISTENCE IN STEM CAREERS AFTER GRADUATION. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO IDENTIFY IF A FACULTY AND PEER MENTORING COHORT MODEL, COMBINED WITH OTHER UNIVERSITY SUPPORTS, IMPACTS 1-YEAR RETENTION AND 4-YEAR GRADUATION RATES FOR BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS SCHOLARS. THE FACULTY MENTOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING WILL BE ASSESSED TO UNDERSTAND IF THIS TRAINING, COMBINED WITH DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC MENTORING, CAN POSITIVELY IMPACT STUDENTS' SUCCESS, AND INCREASE THEIR SENSE OF BELONGING. THE PROJECT WILL BE EVALUATED USING SURVEYS AND OTHER ESTABLISHED MEASURES FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND FACULTY MENTORS. RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE PRESENTED AT NATIONAL MEETINGS AND SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION IN PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS. THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY NSF?S SCHOLARSHIPS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS PROGRAM, WHICH SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LOW-INCOME ACADEMICALLY TALENTED STUDENTS WITH DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED WHO EARN DEGREES IN STEM FIELDS. IT ALSO AIMS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF FUTURE STEM WORKERS, AND TO GENERATE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ACADEMIC SUCCESS, RETENTION, TRANSFER, GRADUATION, AND ACADEMIC/CAREER PATHWAYS OF LOW-INCOME STUDENTS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

MCA: GREGARINES OF GRASSHOPPERS FROM THE AMERICAN WEST -PARASITISM IS A WIDESPREAD LIFESTYLE ACROSS THE TREE OF LIFE, AND THE PARASITIC ORGANISMS CAN GREATLY AFFECT THE HOST SPECIES ON OR IN WHICH THEY LIVE. THIS RESEARCH WILL ELUCIDATE AN UNDERSTUDIED GROUP OF SINGLE-CELLED PARASITES CALLED GREGARINES. GREGARINES ARE RELATED TO PARASITES WHICH CAUSE SEVERE HUMAN AND ANIMAL DISEASES SUCH AS MALARIA AND COCCIDIOSIS. UNLIKE THEIR RELATIVES, GREGARINES DO NOT INFECT VERTEBRATE HOSTS. INSTEAD, THEY PARASITIZE VARIOUS GROUPS OF INVERTEBRATES INCLUDING EARTHWORMS, SHRIMP, AND INSECTS. ONLY ABOUT 1,600 SPECIES OF GREGARINES ARE KNOWN; HOWEVER, GIVEN THEIR ABILITY TO PARASITIZE SO MANY KINDS OF HOSTS, IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS IS LESS THAN 1% OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES THAT EXIST. THIS PROJECT WILL COLLECT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, GREGARINES PARASITIZING GRASSHOPPERS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. TO DATE, THERE ARE NO COLLECTIONS OF GREGARINES PARASITIZING ANY INSECT GROUP WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND THIS PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO DISCOVER NUMEROUS NEW SPECIES OF GREGARINES. THUS, THIS IS THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO CHARACTERIZE GREGARINE DIVERSITY IN A FOCUSED GROUP OF ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT INSECT HOSTS IN THE ENTIRE WESTERN PART OF THE US. IN ADDITION TO FIELD COLLECTIONS AND SPECIES DISCOVERY, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE RESOURCES AND TRAINING TO ENHANCE AND ADVANCE THE RESEARCH PROGRAM OF A MID-CAREER FACULTY MEMBER AT ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY, HELP TRAIN UNDERGRADUATES IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, AND HOLD COMMUNITY EDUCATION EVENTS AT A LOCAL NATURE CENTER THAT WILL EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON PARASITE LIFE CYCLES, HOST-PARASITE INTERACTIONS, AND THE IMPACT OF PARASITES ON THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. THIS PROJECT EXPLORES THE BIODIVERSITY OF A GROUP OF UNDERSTUDIED PARASITES THAT ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY UNSAMPLED ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. IT SUPPORTS FIELD-BASED COLLECTIONS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUNCTIONAL MOLECULAR LABORATORY FOR GREGARINE SYSTEMATICS AT ROCKHURST UNIVERSITY. SIX EXPEDITIONS TO SITES IN WESTERN STATES WILL COLLECT GRASSHOPPER SPECIES ALONG THE GREGARINE PARASITES THAT LIVE WITHIN THEM. THE SINGLE CELLED GREGARINES WILL BE PRESERVED FOR MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR ANALYSES TO (1) DISCOVER AND DESCRIBE NOVEL GREGARINE SPECIES PARASITIZING GRASSHOPPERS, AND (2) INVESTIGATE MORPHOLOGICAL (PHENOTYPIC) AND MOLECULAR (GENOTYPIC) VARIATION WITHIN THE GREGARINES. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST STUDY WHICH SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND BOTH PHENOTYPIC AND GENOTYPIC VARIABILITY OF GREGARINES FROM INSECT HOST GROUPS ACROSS THE HOSTS? GEOGRAPHIC RANGE. THIS MIXED-METHOD APPROACH WILL TEST COMPETING HYPOTHESES OF STRICT HOST-SPECIFICITY OR ECOSYSTEM-SPECIFICITY IN THIS HOST-PARASITE SYSTEM. THIS PROJECT ALSO WILL PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTREACH AT A CONSERVATION CENTER IN KANSAS CITY?S URBAN CORE TO HIGHLIGHT CONSERVATION OF NATURAL SYSTEMS. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WILL BE MENTORED AND TRAINED IN THE FIELDS OF PARASITE TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS, GAINING FIELD AND LABORATORY-BASED EXPERIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

IMPROVING INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS FOR LIFE-SCIENCE STUDENTS THROUGH A BIOMEDICALLY RELEVANT MULTIMEDIA CURRICULUM

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: PHYSICS OF MEDICINE

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: COMMUNITY SOURCING INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS FOR THE LIFE SCIENCES

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: POGIL MATH - GUIDED INQUIRY MATERIALS FOR GATEKEEPER COURSES IN MATHEMATICS

INDIAN HOUSING BLOCK GRANTS