The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Chaminade University of Honolulu two Title III discretionary grants totaling $6.5 million to expand and upgrade the school’s Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Title III grants serve the Native American population, including Native Hawaiians, by increasing and strengthening academic opportunities, in this case, for students who are interested in the natural sciences.
“As a federally designated Native Hawaiian-Serving Institution, Chaminade’s diverse learning community consists of about 12 percent students of who are of Native Hawaiian ancestry,” said Chaminade President Sue Wesselkamper.
The first grant, $4 million, will completely fund a project to build infrastructure for faculty and student biomedical research, renovate laboratories, and buy new equipment.
The second grant of $2.5 million will be used as “start-up funding” for a new Chaminade nursing program. The university plans to introduce a Bachelor’s of Science degree in nursing and accept the first students in 2010.
For more information, visit the Chaminade Web site at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711.