May 13, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Ernst (702) 889-8426

Nevada MESA to Honor Teachers and Students

Over the past year, students and teachers from eight Nevada schools participated in the MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) program that works closely with traditionally underrepresented students to help them excel in mathematics and science.

“Through tutoring, conferences, leadership development and parental and teacher workshops, MESA continues to be one of our top programs for reaching out to those students who are underrepresented in math and science,” said Dr. Jane Nichols, chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada. “One of our key strategic goals in the years to come is to continue our efforts to work with K-12 to increase the opportunities for Nevadans to earn a college education.”

Students and teachers from Hug High School and Traner Middle School will attend the Reno banquet on May 14 in the Traner Middle School Cafeteria from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Students and teachers from Desert Pines High School, Durango High School, Mojave High School, Monaco Middle School, O’Callaghan Middle School, and West Middle School will attend the Las Vegas banquet on May 15 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Frank & Estella Beam Hall, Boyd Dining Room, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Funded by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR infrastructure grant and the UCCSN, the MESA program works to increase the rate of enrollment in science and math related majors in higher education. More than 40,000 students have benefited from the MESA program since its inception in California 30 years ago.

For more information about the program, contact the Nevada MESA Program Director Dr. Paul Buck of the Desert Research Institute at (702) 895-0424. Note: This number will be changed to 862-5424 after Friday, May 16.

The Nevada Board of Regents is the elected, 13-member governing body for the University and Community College System of Nevada. Comprising two doctoral granting universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges and one environmental research institute, the UCCSN serves the educational and job training needs of the nation's fastest growing state. As Nevada's only system of higher education, the UCCSN provides educational opportunities to more than 93,000 students.

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