In celebrating its milestone 100th anniversary across 2012, Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) is making a point of honoring the colleges to which it has made a crucial difference, including Hope.
Earlier this month, RCSA, which is the nation’s oldest foundation devoted wholly to science, announced the 10 liberal arts colleges in the United States that have received the most research grants in its history. Hope topped the list with 64 research grants, a total shared with Williams College of Williamstown, Mass.
RCSA is a major funder of undergraduate research involving early-career faculty and students, and notes that its grant awards are, therefore, a reflection of a college’s commitment to undergraduate research and its role in science education.
“Liberal arts colleges play a disproportionately large role in the education of future scientists,” said Dr. James M. Gentile, who is president of RCSA and is also a former dean and member of the biology faculty at Hope. “We highlight these 10 colleges, because the number of research grants that they have received from RCSA through a highly competitive process underscores the strength of their commitment to science education in the liberal arts arena.”
In addition to Hope and Williams, the colleges on the list are Amherst College of Amherst, Mass. (63); Carleton College of Northfield, Minn. (63), Reed College of Portland, Ore. (59); Occidental College of Los Angeles, Calif. (57); Wellesley College of Wellesley, Mass. (50); Pomona College of Claremont, Calif. (50); Swarthmore College of Swarthmore, Pa. (49); and Franklin and Marshall College of Lancaster, Pa. (47).
Based in Tucson, Ariz., the foundation provides catalytic funding for grants, conferences and advocacy to support early career faculty, innovative ideas for transformative research, integration of research and science teaching, interdisciplinary research, and building tomorrow's academic cultures.
RCSA President James Gentile served at Hope from 1976 to 2005, immediately prior to beginning his tenure at RCSA. In addition, Dr. Michael P. Doyle, a previous RCSA president, was a Hope faculty member from 1968 to 1984.
More about the foundation and its 100th anniversary year is available online at www.rescorp.org.