A new master of science path in forensic pattern analysis, one of the first in this field in the U.S., will be offered starting in the fall 2021 term at Loyola University Maryland. loyola.edu
A new bachelor of science in business, technology, and entrepreneurship will be offered starting in the fall of 2021 at NYU’s highly ranked Stern School of Business. The STEM-certified program will be the first four-year degree of its kind in the U.S. nyu.edu
Baker Hughes Company is donating its Energy Innovation Center in Oklahoma City to Oklahoma State University. The center will expand research opportunities for engineering students and allow for more collaboration with industry experts. Classes for the MS in petroleum engineering will also move to the center. go.okstate.edu
A gift of $5 million has gone to the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis to establish two endowed professorships in virology and immunology. wustl.edu
Starting this fall a new multidisciplinary major and medial degree in Indigenous studies is being offered by the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Queen’s University in Ontario. The program builds on the general BA in Indigenous studies the school has offered since 2013. queensu.ca
A new position of associate director of diversity, culture, and climate has been added to the Athletic Department at Syracuse University. syracuse.edu
A new career pathway, the Common First-Year Engineering Certificate, will be offered by Okanagan College in British Columbia starting in the fall of 2021. The program is designed to be highly transferable so that students can complete their engineering degree at other institutions. okanagan.bc.ca
The new Science and Innovation Center at Seattle University, slated for a 2021 opening, has been granted new funding in the form of $60 million in tax-exempt bonds from the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority, saving the school about $2 million in interest. The five-story, LEED Gold facility will house biology, chemistry, computer science, and engineering disciplines. seattleu.edu
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed $23.7 million in funding for the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics at Brown University. The largest NSF grant the institute has received to date, this round of funding will support mathematics programming and research. brown.edu
A gift of $194.7 million has gone to the University of Arkansas to expand research and establish the new Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research with “research clusters” in data science, materials science and engineering, food and technology, bioscience, and bioengineering, as well as research in metabolism and neuroscience. The donation, from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, is one of the largest private gifts ever given to a university for research. uark.edu
Rooted & Rising, a certificate program designed for Indigenous urban youth, will be offered by the Faculty of Education at York University in Toronto on weekends over the course of three months. The curriculum, which incorporates traditional teachings, will focus on leadership and communication skills to promote positive environmental change. yorku.ca
A new academy designed to foster leadership and technology skills for students of color and women who are interested in careers in technology and engineering has been launched at the University of Massachusetts flagship campus in Amherst. Led by the Institute for Diversity Sciences, the initiative will tap experts from several other schools in the state, and industry leaders in the sector are sponsors. umass.edu
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto is launching the Indigenous Educational Research Centre where students can meet to conduct culturally appropriate research and advance work on Indigenous-specific projects in education. utoronto.ca
The School of Medicine at Yale University is collaborating with the Yale Law School to create a new center focused on improving the health of individuals and communities impacted by mass incarceration. The new SEICHE Center for Health and Justice is poised to promote health equity and social justice. yale.edu
An exclusively online professional credential program in tech consulting will be offered by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. The 17-week program offers nine credit hours applicable to the school’s online MS in Information Systems Management program. asu.edu
The Anderson School of Management at UCLA has received STEM designation for three of its MBA programs. Two other master’s programs at the school, financial engineering and data analytics, are also STEM certified. ucla.edu
An alumnus has given $5 million to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. The gift will establish the interdisciplinary Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics Research. temple.edu
A $20 million gift earmarked for addressing climate change has gone to the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. The funds will go toward adding faculty positions, in turn expanding opportunities for research and education. And the university is planning to create a $100 million Research Triangle Park campus as a base for up to 250 faculty and researchers focused on combating infectious diseases. duke.edu
Effects of the environment on gene expression will be the focus of the new Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The new initiative has been funded by a $15 million gift. northwestern.edu
A $10 million anonymous gift will go to support the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, which includes students, faculty, and resources from the schools of medicine, communication, engineering, and arts and sciences. The gift will support collaborative research, summer research opportunities for students, and infrastructure and curriculum development. upenn.edu
The 10-school University of California system has joined schools planning to phase out requirements that applicants submit SAT and ACT scores. The UC schools had already made the board scores optional during the pandemic, and in 2025, scores will not be considered in selecting any applicant, in or out of state. universityofcalifornia.edu
The College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba will launch a new bachelor of science in midwifery in the fall of 2021. The innovative program will incorporate traditional knowledge and practices, and because of the need for midwives in Indigenous communities in the province, half the seats in the program will be reserved for Indigenous students. umanitoba.ca
A new completely online master’s degree in artificial intelligence was launched last summer through the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering. A certificate program is also offered. jhu.edu
A change in terminology, from “Aboriginal” to “Indigenous,” is being implemented at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. The change, which affects the names of programs and facilities, was made in consultation with Indigenous communities in the province. mun.ca
Participation at Washington State University in the annual NSF STEM for All Video Showcase focused on the Culturally Responsive Indigenous Science Project. Funded by a $2.5 million NSF grant, the project integrates traditional knowledge with Western science. wsu.edu
A new academic department called Reconciliation, Research, and Academic Innovation has been instituted at the University College of the North in Manitoba. The goal of the department is to integrate teaching, learning, research, and academic innovation with Indigenization and reconciliation. ucn.ca
A $20 million gift to fund research on and treatment of brain disorders has gone to Vanderbilt University, which will use it to establish the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery. The scholarship fund at Vanderbilt has also received a substantial gift of $8 million from the Perot Foundation. vanderbilt.edu
Qualified seniors at the University of Texas at San Antonio have been offered automatic acceptance into the school’s graduate programs. Almost 4,000 seniors were invited to pursue master’s degrees starting this fall. utsa.edu
The Indigenous student who led the fight to change the offensive name of the varsity sports teams at McGill University in Montreal has been named valedictorian of the Faculty of Arts. Formerly tagged the “Redmen,” teams are now just “McGill teams.” The student, Tomas Jirousek, referenced racial justice in his speech. mcgill.ca