CONWAY, Ark. (July
28, 2014) – The Hendrix Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BCMB) club recently
received a Undergraduate Affiliate Network (UAN) Public Outreach Committee POC (POC)
outreach grant from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
(ASBMB).
The goal of the
program is to increase the involvement of UAN chapters (the Hendrix BCMB club
is a UAN chapter) in science outreach activities.
“Our club has
been trying to establish a more active outreach program and, this spring, members
of our club, led by Dakota Pouncey ’15, Martha Kellems ’15, and John Pennington
’16, wrote an application for the outreach grant,” said Hendrix biology
professor Dr. Rick Murray, chair of the Hendrix BCMB program.
“In our grant
application, we proposed to set up an outreach program with a local high
school with the goal of helping their students improve their test scores
in basic science courses,” Murray said. “Our plan is to go to the school once a
week during the academic year and have our undergraduate students host tutoring
sessions as well as make presentations on their research to help the high
school students develop an appreciation for science.
“We have set up
a partnership with Wonderview High School in Hattieville, which is about 30
miles northwest of Conway, and we have been working with Marja Davis, one of
the science teachers there, to establish this program,” he said. “We hope that
this will be an enjoyable experience for our students and will help the
students at Wonderview gain a stronger background in science.”
Founded
in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and
sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of
the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix
is featured in the latest edition of Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, as
well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes
magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and the 2014 Fiske Guide to
Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist
Church since 1884. For
more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.