Bristol-Myers Squibb Awards Delaware Valley University a $20,000 Grant for Undergraduate Student Research
Bristol-Myers Squibb, a leading biopharma company, has awarded Delaware Valley University a $20,000 grant to fund student research. Through Student Research, a course at the University, undergraduates spend a semester exploring a topic of their choosing under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Students form and test hypotheses and present their results to the University community as part of the course. The funding will support new student research projects for the 2019 to 2020 academic year.
“We are grateful to have a company like Bristol-Myers Squibb investing in experiential learning at Delaware Valley University,” said DelVal Professor Dr. Cynthia Keler. “Hands-on, real-world experiences like student research help DelVal students stand out as they pursue their career goals.”
While the course is open to all majors, the grant funding will support projects related to biology, chemistry, agriculture, animal biotechnology and conservation, environmental sciences, and animal science. The funding will allow students to take on larger scale research projects by covering expenses such as materials and equipment and will allow more students to experience research firsthand.
“Enrollment in the Student Research course has grown substantially since it was first offered in the fall of 2010,” said Dr. Keler. “During the 2017 to 2018 academic year, 62 undergraduate students (22 in the fall and 40 in the spring semester) participated in the course. Without Bristol-Myers Squibb’s generous support this growth wouldn’t have been possible.”
Student Research is a special course offered through DelVal’s award-winning Experience360 Program. The Experience360 Program prepares students to solve problems, integrating classroom knowledge with real-world experience. Through the program, 100 percent of DelVal undergraduates gain real-world experience before graduation. DelVal’s Experience360 Program was named the 2019 Outstanding Experiential Education Program by the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE).