Equity in Engineering: Nandika D'Souza, Regents Professor and associate dean in the College of Engineering, is serving as lead principal investigator on an $800,000 National Science Foundation grant awarded to UNT and North Central Texas College to create more opportunities for Latino/a students and communities in engineering. The program will incorporate community building, networking, academic assistance and career coaching to create research-informed institutional change.
Adding Agritourism: With more than $245,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism will add offerings in research and an academic course focused on the growing agritourism industry. The funding is part of the USDA's $14 million overall investment to advance learning experiences in the agricultural and human science sectors at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
Diversity in Science: Faculty in the College of Science earned two different grants aimed at increasing the diversity of students pursuing studies in the sciences. Funded by a $75,000 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, chemistry faculty members Molly Atkinson, Adriana Corrales and Rebecca Weber are studying ways to build more equitable educational pathways in chemistry for underserved communities. Physics faculty members Yuan Li and Ohad Shemmer are collaborating with faculty from the University of Texas at Dallas to launch a post-baccalaureate bridge program and organize monthly colloquia and annual symposia to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in astronomy.
