Furman Mentoring Program Garners Award from S.C. Higher Ed Commission
March 17, 2010
GREENVILLE, SC – March 17, 2010 – The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education has given Furman University an award for a program involving Furman students in mentoring and outreach efforts at two local schools.
Furman was recognized for its Advancing Science Education and Wellness in Urban Greenville Schools program, funded in part by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
The program, also known as the HHMI Mentors Program, sends an all-volunteer group of Furman students to work with students at Hughes Academy of Science and Technology and at Fuller Normal Advanced Technology Charter School. The program is directed by Furman’s Office of Integrative Research in the Sciences, which supports multidisciplinary research initiatives for Furman faculty and students as well as implementing science education outreach in the Greenville community and across the state.
The state higher education commission presented Furman the 2009-2010 Commendation of Excellence for Service Learning Award. Since 2001, the commission has presented the award as a way to publicly recognize projects that successfully integrate student learning with community service. Furman won in the independent colleges and universities category.
Furman has had a two-year partnership with Hughes, a magnet middle school, where 35 Furman science and math majors work with at-risk students for an hour each week, helping them with homework, test preparation and projects.
In a letter praising the program, Hughes principal Patrick J. Mark wrote that “our students are becoming more confident in their ability to achieve (in math and science). Many of our students have seen improvement in their test scores and in their overall subject area grades.”At Fuller Normal, Furman students are involved in homework assistance as well as in science camps held during the summer. They also provide free tutoring and homework help sessions in the evening hours so parents of students can attend classes in exercise, nutrition and wellness.
“Furman University students are changing the lives of children at Fuller Normal Charter School,” wrote the school’s principal, Brenda G. Humbert, who praised the program for providing “eager, positive and dependable role models for our young children.”For more information, contact the Furman News and Media Relations Office at (864) 294-3107.
