EMU, U-M partner on $1M climate change grant

Eastern Michigan University is leading a group of the state's top universities, including Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, that are sharing in a $1 million federal grant to add educational programs about climate change.

"We have all kinds of different people who are associated with it," says Sandra Rutherford, a geo-science education professor at EMU and the lead investigator for the grant.

The project plans to set up a national network of educational partnerships devoted to incorporating climate change and its effects into school curriculums. It will focus on pairing those who are working on climate change research with research and educational programs in the Great Lakes region.

Everyone from science teachers to business stakeholders to the general public is targeted for the program. Within the next two years, these educators should be able to access a network of researchers and scientists focusing on climate change.

The three universities are working with the College of Exploration of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, and a consulting faculty member from Ashland College.

Source: Sandra Rutherford, geo-science education professor at Eastern Michigan University
Writer: Jon Zemke