 Living
Laboratory
The Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, a rich riparian
and upland habitat for fish and wildlife, is now nearly 4,000
acres, thanks to the acquisition last year of another piece
of property. The reserve is one of several managed by the
Bidwell Environmental Institute which provides an outdoor
laboratory for students in the Environmental Studies Program,
biology, and other disciplines throughout the university.
Fit Kids
Professors Cindy Wolff and Faye
Johnson, nutrition and food sciences, received a
$570,000 grant to establish an obesity prevention and treatment
clinic for children with student assistants. OPT for Fit Kids
(overweight prevention and treatment) program has been awarded
$900,000 over a three-year period to increase the awareness
of health risks associated with childhood overweight disorders
and to provide direct services to families.
Star Researcher
Professor Kathryn Silliman, nutrition and
food sciences, was awarded the California Dietetic Association's
Outstanding Researcher Award for 2002 for her studies on pycnogenol
and vitamin C, fasting insulin levels and the glycemic index,
and nutritional inadequacy of food served to the homeless.
One Year of Fame
Nursing student Jean Krueger was recently
selected in a group of 25 among 250 applicants statewide to
be followed for the first year of her career by NurseWeek
magazine. She will be working in a rural hospital in
Yreka, California.
Research-to-Go
The Environmental Science Field Research Unit was established
with a grant of $259,000. The station will support research
in environmental science, geology, hydrology, biology, chemistry,
and mathematics. Students will benefit from the state-of-the-art-equipment
that will help them compete in the job market.
Aquatic Bioassessment
The Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory in biological sciences
was awarded more than $500,000 to assess water quality using
benthic invertebrates as indicators.
New Laboratory Equipment
Professors Gordon Wolfe and Jeff
Bell, biological sciences, received a National Science
Foundation grant to purchase a DNA sequencer. The DNA sequencer
will be used to introduce undergraduate students to modern
gene-based biology in a variety of courses, including microbiology,
plant and animal molecular biology, and ecology.
Wolfe, with colleagues Jonathan Day and
James Pushnick, received an NSF grant to
purchase two fluorescence microscopes, which will allow the
melding of fluorescence with computer digital imaging technologies.
Watershed Quality
 Professor
Dave Brown, geosciences, working with the
Bidwell Environmental Institute, received $107,134 for a watershed
water quality grant titled “Cherokee Watershed Water
Quality Investigation.” Both graduate and undergraduate
students will assist with the research.
Nursing
The Nursing Program produces 60-80 graduates per year, whose
passing rates on the national licensing examination consistently
exceed state and national pass rates. In the recent past,
100 percent of graduates passed for two years and consistently
score at 90 percent or above, several points higher than the
national rate of 85 percent. Chico nursing graduates are highly
prized by employers of nurses.
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