Keck Foundation LOI Notes

Items to Include/Do:

• Use Keck's section headings
• Make it clear that Earlham will be supporting release time for low-level research and curriculum module development and first offering via the F-K fund.
• Note all the synergistic activities, other summer research, operating budget support, endowment coming, Borman, etc.
• Note longitudinal nature of the data collection and what it will enable us to do
• Complete appendixes
• Is there anything we need to do WRT Doug's letter?
• Weather station reference. Where? Small.

Questions:

• If we get funding from other sources can we be flexible about what we use their money for?

• What are our target locations?
  • One close to campus for ease of access for EcoBio, sample plot idea.
  • One further away that might be more "interesting": Springwood Lake, Teal pond, Garner pond, Swayne Robinson/Richmond Gas Company, etc.
• Tie to IDEM's/CIty of Richmond investigation of Springwood Lake? Mention this.
• Can we make the claim that taking a course with this module in it will increase the chance that they will take another science course/major? Is there any support in the literature for this? Survey students before and after the class? Survey classes without this module and with this module. More other science courses are taken as a result of taking a course with this module?
• WWABD?

• Doug's letter can include information about the College.

Documents to review:

• Keck's mission statement, previous grants. Answer the questions why Keck, and why not someplace else.
• LOI guidelines.

References:

• Report from Keck - Barbara
• PITAC reports

Notes:

• Biology
  • Future direction might involve laboratory ecotoxicology studies of the effects of varied levels of metals on te physiology of individual aquatic species (i.e. dosage responses).
  • Another future direction might involve field population demography studies of species most susceptible to metal toxicity to determine precise fitness costs (i.e. to reproduction and survivorship).
  • Possible faculty: Nicole Blair?? Brent?? New Bio physiology person? Not John.
• Funding delivered Dec, 2006. Summer time is startup for both ongoing research and course module development. Release the following Fall/Spring for first implementation in each course.
• What's the science:
  • Amount present over time
  • Take-up into tissue? Bioavailability
• We will focus on the following metals:
  • Mercury
  • Lead
  • Uranium
  • Arsenic
  • Selenium
  • Vanadium
  • Molybdenum
  • Chromium
  • Cadmium
  • Copper
  • Iron
  • Manganese
  • Zinc
• Water flow through soil via field and laboratory experiments and comutational modeling.