St. Mary’s University
stmu.ca
First Nations and Métis graduates at St. Mary’s University in Calgary were celebrated in a ceremony that included smudging, prayers, and a blessing by a Métis elder. New graduates were presented a beaded eagle feather and a special Métis sash.
PHOTO BY Sergei Belski
Vanderbilt University
vanderbilt.edu
A $17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in biomedical research at Vanderbilt University. The university and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center will launch a multiyear program to recruit, promote, and retain early-career investigators.
University of Regina
uregina.ca
The public schools in Regina, Saskatchewan, are partnering with the University of Regina to give high school students a land-based learning opportunity to work with a traditional knowledge keeper.
Tufts University
tufts.edu
A gift of $4 million will go toward establishing the Auster Center for Applied Innovation Research at Tufts University. The interdisciplinary center will enlist technology and natural and social sciences to foster innovation in solving society’s problems.
Duke University
duke.edu
Tuition will be covered for low- and middle-income students from the Carolinas at Duke University. Full tuition grants will go to students whose family income is $150,000 or less, and those whose family income falls below $65,000 will also receive financial aid for housing, meals, and course materials.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
minneapolis.edu
This year the MCTC is celebrating 25 years of the Jeremiah Program, which assists single parents in achieving their educational goals by helping with housing, educational daycare, and counseling. The two-generation approach of this successful program has now spread to nine other cities.
Toronto Metropolitan University
torontomu.ca
Formerly Ryerson University, Toronto Metropolitan University is actively revamping its recruitment and retention efforts, introducing Indigenous ways of knowing and making its educational spaces more accessible to Indigenous students.
Seven Women’s Colleges Receive NASA Grant
More than $5 million in funding will go to seven women’s colleges to address gender disparities in STEM fields. The schools are Smith College and Simmons University (Mass.), Agnes Scott College (Ga.), Alveno College (Wis.), Cedar Crest College (Pa.), College of St. Mary (Neb.), and Salem Academy and College (N.C.).
Illustration by iStock
University of Arizona
arizona.edu
The College of Engineering at the University of Arizona will offer a new undergraduate degree program in computer science and engineering. Students will be able to participate in the program in person and online beginning this fall.
University of Pennsylvania
upenn.edu
A $10 million gift earmarked for health care entrepreneurship has gone to the Penn Venture Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. The funds will establish an incubator and accelerator for health care startups.
City University of New York
cuny.edu
A $2 million investment from the state will fund 12 apprenticeship programs at the 10 CUNY colleges. The apprenticeships are in addition to the school’s associate degree courses.
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca
Tuition at the University of Waterloo in Ontario will be waived for qualified students who are members of the Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The main campus is on the traditional lands of these two First Nations.
Georgetown University
georgetown.edu
The Knight Foundation has joined with Georgetown University in a $30 million project. Together they will fund the new Knight-Georgetown Institute to research how technology is used to produce, disseminate, and access information, with a goal of ensuring that information serves the common good.
University of Chicago
uchicago.edu
The University of Tokyo and the University of Chicago are partnering to advance quantum computing, a field where both schools are leaders. IBM and Google are supporting the partnership with a combined $150 million in funding.
Texas A&M University
tamu.edu
The first class of ENMED (“physicianeer”) students has graduated from Texas A&M and Houston Methodist. Founded in 2019, the program combines an MD with a master’s in engineering to foster a combined perspective on improving health care.
Brandon University
brandonu.ca
Starting this fall, mandatory courses with Indigenous content will be part of the curriculum at Brandon University in Manitoba, the largest post-secondary school in Canada to institute such a requirement.
University of Michigan
umich.edu
A new $55 million Quantum Research Institute will augment expertise in this area of computing at the University of Michigan. Lab space and new faculty positions are included in the initiative. Also at the University of Michigan, an $18 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund the development of a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
Arizona State University
asu.edu
A grant of up to $70 million from the Department of Energy has gone to Arizona State University to establish an institute for innovation in clean energy manufacturing. The school will lead Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon (EPIXC), a multi-institution collaboration.
Also at ASU, the School of Computer Science and Augmented Intelligence of the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University will offer an online undergraduate computer science degree program starting this fall.
University of California, Berkeley
berkeley.edu
A new college of Computing, Data Science and Society is in the works at UC Berkeley. The university will provide this data science curriculum free to students at California State University, California community colleges, and learning institutions worldwide.
CPA Western School of Business
cpawsb.ca
For aspiring CPAs, a new program that reflects Indigenous experience and knowledge is being offered by CPA Western School of Business in Alberta, which focuses on accounting, business, and finance.
Bharti Singhla worked in the field in Delhi, India, this summer on a novel wastewater treatment technology.
Phtoto by Saumya Khandelwal
Stanford University
stanford.edu
A new “ecopreneurship” program at Stanford University will support students working on initiatives that address climate change in public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The program will be a joint project of the schools of business and sustainability.
University of Southern California
usc.edu
As part of its $1 billion Frontiers of Computing plan, the University of Southern California is set to open the new School of Advanced Computing this fall. The school, which is designed to attract more students from diverse majors to the discipline, will be home to programs in computer science, data science, IT, and advanced computing.
University of Colorado Boulder
colorado.edu
A new PhD program in engineering education will be offered beginning in the 2024–2025 school year at the University of Colorado Boulder. One goal of the program is to maintain a diverse student population while improving engineering education.
Also at UC Boulder, a new position – vice chancellor of Native American affairs – has been created to serve as liaison with local tribal communities.
Université de Moncton
umoncton.ca
The Esgenoôpetitj First Nation is joining with the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick to create an arboretum on the school’s Shippagan campus. Included will be a garden of Indigenous medicinal plants, a wigwam, and teaching pavilion in addition to more than two dozen species of Acadian forest trees and shrubs.
Illustrations by istock