Michael C. Grant, professor of environmental, population and organismic biology at the 乐播传媒 at Boulder, has been selected to head up a new undergraduate education program aimed at highly motivated students with strong academic or creative abilities.
The appointment, made by CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard L. Byyny, was approved last week by CU President John C. Buechner.
Well-known for his teaching and research achievements, Grant will serve as director of the Norlin Scholars Program, effective Aug. 7, according to Phil DiStefano, vice chancellor for academic affairs. The program will accept its first student participants in fall 1999.
The Norlin Scholars Program is one of several new initiatives designed to recognize and encourage outstanding academic performance by students, DiStefano said.
"In order to attract the most talented and motivated students in the state of Colorado, CU-Boulder must offer them programs that are competitive and challenging," said DiStefano. "Many of the most talented students are not targeted because they are viewed as self-motivated and self-sufficient."
"I think we聮ve been missing out on splendid opportunities to reinforce the hard work and talent of our committed students," DiStefano said. "We need to reward their achievements and help them develop their potential. Professor Grant is an ideal choice to lead this effort."
Grant said he hopes the Norlin Scholars Program will "help attract some students to CU-Boulder who have typically considered only such schools as Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Berkeley and Yale."
Grant has been associated with CU-Boulder since 1974 when he became director of the university's Mountain Research Station. In the intervening years, he has gained widespread recognition for innovations in teaching as well as for his expertise as a research scientist in plant ecology, evolutionary biology and acid rain.
In 1995, Grant received the prestigious Hazel Barnes Prize, CU-Boulder's highest honor for outstanding teaching and research. He also has contributed to the Faculty Teaching Excellence Program and received consistently high student evaluations for his teaching skills.
Recently, Grant was named the first winner of the campus' Sewall Teaching Fellowship honoring one faculty member annually who is known to be among the university's best teachers.
The Norlin Scholars Program will provide educational and financial benefits for outstanding students selected on the basis of their strong academic or creative performance. About 100 students will participate in the program which will start in fall 1999.
Norlin Scholars will receive one-on-one mentoring by a distinguished faculty member, a customized two-semester course for new awardees, expanded access to honors courses, participation in research or independent study under faculty supervision, and priority registration for courses, among other benefits. Each participant will receive a merit-based award of $2,000 annually, plus need-based assistance, if appropriate.
DiStefano said the new program is "a good example of the university聮s commitment to a 聭total learning environment聮 with its emphasis on being more responsive to the needs of all our students."
Other CU-Boulder initiatives to recognize and encourage high-performing students include an expansion of the campus' honors programs and creation of a special advising program for outstanding students.
New honors courses will be added to the existing Arts and Sciences Honors Program, and other schools and colleges are planning to establish similar programs. A special advising system, to begin next year, will offer personalized attention for high-performing students who will be encouraged to participate in challenging undergraduate experiences and to apply for prestigious scholarships.