Augustana College offers scholarships to students of color or community college transfer students who are majoring in biology or biochemistry. Funding for 20 scholars is targeted to increase the number of underrepresented minority majors at the college to at least 8 per year and the number of community college transfer students to 10, at least 85% of whom will graduate. All of the scholars participate in a project to annotate the genome of the bacterium Meiothermus ruber, authentic research on a project initiated by the PI and funded through the Department of Energy. They are also supported by enhanced tutoring, advising, and other measures to ease the transition to Augustana, along with a summer bridging program, a first-year learning community, and interaction with students at other institutions. In this way a series of high-impact teaching practices used throughout the biology curriculum fosters intellectual development of the students, while promoting communication between students and faculty in Biology and Chemistry Departments.
