History

The Institute for Science Education and Science Communication ("Science Institute") was established  on September 1, 1991, to address one of the nation's biggest crises:  science education.

Mirron Alexandroff, President Emeritus of Columbia College, announced that "the Institute will design new initiatives in science and public policy, science communication, and science education and will develop associations with the national and world scientific communities.

The Institute will play a major national role in science education and public policy and will give Columbia College impressive visibilit in the national and international scientific arenas."

The Science Institute has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop an innovative curriculum for nonscience majors to be adopted by universities and colleges around the country. Collaborations with Princeton and Indiana universities provided Columbia College students with exciting opportunities to travel to these institutions, where they attend joint classes and have the opportunity to present their work in the form of artwork, videos, CD-ROMs, film, dances, theatrical presentations, songs, and so forth. Dr. William Cohen, who conducted the NSF site visit to Columbia College for this project, commented: "The class meeting I sat in on was quite scintillating. I have rarely been in a classroom where students had such energy and enthusiasm. It is quite important that the results of this project be shared with faculty at as many institutions as possible; [this will] certainly help faculty at other institutions to adopt/adapt this successful approach."

Additional NSF funding has enabled the Science Institute to develop a Science Visualization and Communication Laboratory where students can produce 2-D and 3-D projects on scientific concepts and processes. In addition to this computer-assisted laboratory and its instructional labs, the Science Institute has constructed a laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art analytical equipment, where students can conduct and replicate sophisticated experiments similar to those used in forensic and environmental investigations.

Science Institute students have had the opportunity to conduct research projects in collaboration with Northwestern University, funded by the U.S. Department of Naval Research; and Duke University, funded by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The Science Institute's curriculum and methods of teaching science have been adopted by many institutions in the city of Chicago, across the United States, and around the world, in order to enhance their science education programs. The success of this curriculum and methodology prompted the NSF to fund the Science Institute to conduct science workshops for Chicago public school teachers. The Science Institute is involved in many outreach programs in the community, including workshops for parents and teachers, funded by the Joyce Foundation; and the Day of Science Program for Chicago public school children. The Science Institute works to incorporate the principals of scientific freedom, human rights, democracy, and world peace in all its endeavors. Human rights takes many hours of hard work fighting regimes, but without any glory. Equal access to science education must be treated as a human right, but it also carries with it obstacles that have to be transcended. Students have a right to the best education.