Virginia Union University has been awarded a $380,000 federal grant to beef up research experiences for its students.

Dr. Carleitta Paige-Anderson, a VUU biology professor who secured the three-year National Science Foundation grant with colleague Dr. Vernon Ruffin, stated that the grant would allow “freshmen taking general biology to be exposed to inquiry-based research that involves them in the development of a project.”

As sophomores, students then could pursue a research certificate at VUU that would allow them to assist new freshmen with projects, engage in additional research, and be exposed to scientific journals and attend conferences during the next three years, Dr. Paige-Anderson stated.

As they graduate, participating students would gain a certificate along with their diploma that “would validate for graduate programs and employers that the student had a research-intensive curriculum,” she stated.

The overall goal is for VUU to produce “more graduates seeking careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Dr. Paige-Anderson added.

The grant also would allow VUU to find out if “students who participate in research early in their academic careers persist in the sciences.”