The Tulsa-based Williams, a Fortune 500 energy and communications company, recently notified the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation of a $250,000 gift in support of its Oklahoma Science Project. Headed by Dr. Philip Silverman, the Science Project is an outreach program devoted to science education. The Williams grant will support development of a CD-ROM/Web-based genetics curriculum for the pro-college classroom.“This grant ensures that the Oklahoma Science Project will mature into a highly effective tool for science teachers,” said Silverman. “Teachers and students in rural Oklahoma often do not have access to the latest information, technology or facilities. The Science Project will significantly help schools in these areas.”
Before the grant from Williams, the Oklahoma Science Project had been organized around a summer course at OMRF for selected science teachers from rural communities. The Foundation will continue to offer the course, but will incorporate the Internet to enhance traditional classroom approaches. Dr. Silverman expects to develop, test and disseminate the CD-ROM/Web-based genetics curriculum within five years.
Along with Williams’ leadership, gift and investment, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute supports the laboratory facilities at OMRF for the Oklahoma Science Project and provides partial staff support. The Oklahoma Farm Bureau has supported the quadrant teacher workshop component of the program, Southwestern Bell continues to support the program with much needed computer equipment and infrastructure, and the Kirkpatrick Foundation supports the program’s general operation. Further, the concept and project have been endorsed by Sandy Garrett, State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Since 1946, OMRF has served the research, education and economic needs of the state, region and nation. The partnership between OMRF and Williams on the Oklahoma Science Project will enhance this mission and provide an important tool to improve science education in Oklahoma’s rural communities and the state as a whole.
