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 Dr. Brian Smith, professor of biology at Black
Hills State University, and partner in research Sherrod James, have
received a grant in the amount of $4,175 from the Columbus Zoo in
Ohio to continue a study of an endangered lizard in Antigua.
The lizard, Ameiva griswoldi, is also
prey for the endangered Antiguan racer snake that Smith has been
studying since 1999. A study group Smith works with has found that
the lizards do not occur on all offshore islands and are missing
from some islands
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for no apparent reason. They have also gone
extinct on some offshore islands. Smith suspects that the lizards
may be susceptible to extinction through predation by the introduced
mongoose population on Antigua and its offshore islands.
The professor feels that developing a database
on this lizard species will be critical to conservation of both the
Antiguan racer (Alsophis antiguae) and the Antiguan ground
lizard.
Smith joined the BH faculty in 1997. He earned
a Ph.D. in quantitative biology from the University of Texas in
1996.
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Black Hills State
University received congressional notification this spring that its
Student Support Services (SSS) program will be funded for another
five years at $208,000 a year.
The SSS program
is part of the TRIO program: Upward Bound, Talent Search, and
Student Support Services. The TRIO label was born under the 1968
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that brought the three
programs under one umbrella. Today, however, TRIO is really five
programs. The Higher Education Act of 1972 included Educational
Opportunity Centers and the McNair program as part of the total
offering.
The Student
Support Services program has been at BHSU since 1971. It provides
academic services and resources to increase the retention and
graduation rates of students from low-income families, students
whose parents have not graduated from college, and students with
disabilities. The program does not provide direct financial support
to students, rather it strengthens the federal financial aid
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 investment by
ensuring that eligible students who attend college have access to
free tutoring, textbooks, basic skills instruction, study skills
workshops, mentoring, and other services to increase their chances
for success.
For the second
time in a row, BHSU’s proposal ranked in the top percentages of
the over 800 programs funded across the United States, as a result
the university has received two additional years of funding to
administer its program. The funding will continue through 2007.
Sharon Hemmingson, SSS director and director of the BHSU student
assistance center, authored the grant proposal.
According to Sen.
Tim Johnson, “Studies continuously indicate that every dollar we
invest in education for our children results in a tremendous profit
for the future of our nation. By helping these first-generation
students afford the price of college tuition and succeed
scholastically, we are opening the door to a whole new world for
them, and for our country as a whole.”
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Below are the program materials received April
26-May 23 in the grants office, Woodburn 218. For copies of the
information, contact the grants office at 642-6627 or e-mail
requests to us at grants@bhsu.edu.
Fellowship information will also be posted on the Student
Union bulletin board near the information desk.
- National
Science Foundation. Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Informatics Program is seeking proposals for
high-risk, small-scale planning or incubation activities that
will likely catalyze rapid and innovative advances in the new
interdisciplinary research community of biodiversity and
ecosystem informatics. Deadline
July 11.
- Pew
Charitable Trusts. Support
for projects on culture, education, environment, health and
human services, public policy, and religion.
Applicants should submit a letter of inquiry.
Complete guidelines available at http://www.pewtrusts.com.
- Canadian
Embassy. Canadian
Studies Grant Program to increase knowledge and appreciation of
Canada and the United States through the support of teaching,
research, and the program activities in a wide range of
disciplines. Priority topics include bilateral trade and economics,
Canada-U.S. border issues, cultural policy and values,
environmental, natural resources, and energy issues, and
security cooperation. Deadlines
vary.
- National
Science Foundation. Faculty
Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. Full proposal deadline is July 24 for NSF 01-84A
(Biological Sciences).
- National
Science Foundation. Vertical
Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical
Sciences (VIGRE). Deadline
July 30.
- U.S.
Department of Energy. Draft
program solicitation for the Industries of the Future, Emerging
Technology Deployment.
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