UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 10, Page 2
November 4, 1993
New program to support minority science majors

     A new program called NUCLEUS (Network of Undergraduate Collaborative
Learning Experiences for Underrepresented Scholars) has been established in
the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to support minority students
majoring in chemistry, biochemistry and biomedical sciences.
     The program is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which
granted the University $1 million over five years to enhance undergraduate
education in the sciences.
     The new director of the program is Victoria Orner.
     A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and a U.S. Air Force veteran,
Orner served at Utah State University as director of minority and special
programs for the College of Science and also as academic adviser for the
college's joint advising center with the College of Humanities, Arts and
Social Sciences.
     NUCLEUS is designed to recruit, retain and graduate academically
talented African-American, Hispanic and Native-American students majoring
in chemistry and biochemistry. Among the services provided are merit-based
financial assistance; a residential summer institute, for incoming freshmen
to prepare them for college work; a freshman seminar series that orients
students to the University's resources and research in science; academic
monitoring and advisement; participation in NUCLEUS' DELTA-X "Agent for
Change" community outreach effort, in which juniors and seniors help
recruit new students; networking with faculty and science professionals;
seminars in conjunction with Career Planning and Placement; and
opportunities for independent research experiences.
     According to Orner, the  goal of the NUCLEUS is to have minority
students experience consistent academic achievement by not only extending
academic support but by having a belief in minority students' abilities to
become science scholars.