Hope College has been selected as one of ten recipients of the National Science Foundation's Awards for the Integration of Research and Education. The Division of Natural Science at Hope has been recognized by Project Kaleidoscope as a "Program that Works" and as a model for other institutions. The mission of the science and mathematics program at Hope mirrors that of the entire College to provide an innovative curriculum, which intertwines student learning and faculty development. The institution has intentionally structured a curriculum in which students can extend the boundaries of departments to study at the interfaces of scientific disciplines and also expand the study of science and mathematics to the social sciences, humanities and the arts.
The College's efforts to integrate research and education were designed to revise the entire curriculum in the Division of Natural Sciences and to establish collaborations between science faculty and other faculty such that course are qualitatively enriched and infused with an investigative mode of teaching that enhances student learning.
Hope College is being awarded $500,000 to advance institutional goals of integrating research and education, document and disseminate information of its exemplary activities, and expand the integration of research and education by conducting outreach activities over the coming three years. To complement effective faculty and student learning and scholarly activities, the College will establish a Visiting Scholars Program. The goal of the program is to model integration of research and education at the undergraduate level for faculty who have had limited opportunities to work in an environment where this integration occurs. As a result faculty and programs will benefit from the insights gained from visiting scientists, thus creating long term collaborations between individuals and institutions.
