VALLEY CITY (VCSU) – Valley City State University has been awarded a $478,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that will be used to fund VCSU undergraduate research projects over the next four years.

VCSU is among 10 partnering institutions in North Dakota that were awarded grant money for a collaborative proposal to build a sustainable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research and education ecosystem in North Dakota. Ten colleges and universities in North Dakota will collaborate to expand STEM research capacity in the state, connect research communities, build STEM research literacy in rural populations, and strengthen the STEM community at the five Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in North Dakota.

The award will provide research opportunities for both VCSU students and faculty, expanding the school’s research capacity by supporting salaries and supplies. Grant money will also be used to build collaborations with area high schools and support their faculty and students in research initiatives.

“This grant makes it possible to continue research within the VCSU science department and provide students with valuable high impact experiences that support their future careers,” said Hilde van Gijssel, Ph.D., professor of science at VCSU. “This grant supports salaries and supplies for VCSU Science professors to develop research projects in their area of expertise. It also supports VCSU student salaries and creates opportunities to recruit high school students into the research program at VCSU. Research involving undergraduate students started with Dr. Andre Delorme (faculty emeritus) in the late 1990s and has had previous support from ND INBRE and through the ND EPSCoR office (ND-INSPIRE and ND-ACES). I am excited to continue the research we have built over the last 5 years with ND-ACES.”

Funded by NSF under their EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-CORE RII) program, the grant was awarded for the Sustainable Programs Advancing Research and Knowledge across North Dakota (SPARK-ND) proposal. NSF has awarded the project for an anticipated total amount of $7,963,804 over four years. VCSU will receive $478,893 over a four-year period.

Some of the planned activities for SPARK-ND include outreach to rural schools, including opportunities for high school and undergraduate students to participate in scientific research; engagement with primarily undergraduate institutions and TCUs to recruit and retain STEM students; and development of multi-institutional research teams across the state using networking events, workshops, and funding opportunities.

Colleges and universities participating in SPARK-ND are:

Cankdeska Cikana Community College

Mayville State University

Minot State University

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College

North Dakota State University

Sitting Bull College

Turtle Mountain College

United Tribes Technical College

University of North Dakota

Valley City State University

For more information about VCSU or to arrange an interview, contact Mark Potts at mark.m.potts@vcsu.edu or 701-845-7228.

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