Fueling educational reform: the HHMI professors.

Is fundamental change possible in the tradition-bound world of college and university science education? The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) believes it is and recently announced new grants to empower individual scientisteducators—the HHMI Professors—to develop innovative approaches for changing the way they teach biology to undergraduates. Central to the Professors program is the goal of connecting contemporary scientific research and teaching, particularly at large research universities—an objective advocated in numerous reports and studies (e.g., Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Universities, available online at http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/). Although virtually all universities offer opportunities for their undergraduates to conduct laboratory research, the number of students who can take advantage of such opportunities is limited. Are there untapped ways of expanding undergraduate research opportunities and integrating discovery research into the mainstream undergraduate curriculum, particularly at the introductory levels? Another key objective for the Professors is to identify exceptional strategies for meeting the needs of students in the sciences. How can undergraduate science education be personalized to attract and retain students, including those from groups traditionally underrepresented in science? Are there practicing scientists who could significantly expand the number of students they mentor and provide the kind of academic and career counseling essential to student success? What role could scientists play in engaging graduate students and postdocs in undergraduate education while maintaining their own research, and what role could they play in helping these individuals prepare for their future roles as researchereducators? The HHMI also sought to support faculty who could organize and present the latest knowledge and approaches to modern science to undergraduates. Can research-active scientists be engaged in devising new educational tools and materials? Are there faculty uniquely positioned in emerging fields who could develop new teaching strategies and produce timely materials to fill important niches? How can fresh connections be established between fields, such as between biology and chemistry or between biomedical engineering and quantitative physiology?