MIDDAY UPDATE: 'U' faculty awarded $35M grant to improve K-12 math and science teaching

A team of 50 MSU faculty members will use a $35 million grant to work to improve math and science teaching and achievement for K-12 schools in Michigan and Ohio.

The grant took effect Friday and was awarded by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency supporting research and education in science and engineering. The foundation, which has a $5.3 billion annual budget, receives 30,000 grant requests a year. Of those, about 10,000 are awarded.

Provost Lou Anna Simon said the grant is a testament to the academic strengths of MSU. She said because of the competitiveness of the grant, it takes a nationally recognized faculty to receive a grant of this sort.

"Without the power of knowledge here, this grant wouldn't have been possible," she said. "This is a good illustration of how the knowledge base of higher education can be used to help not only the quality of higher education but also K-12 education."

For more information on this story, see Monday's edition of The State News.