The program supports four students each summer over a 10-week research project overseen by faculty advisors. Students receive credit for their research and gain practical experience as researchers as they make progress on completing their degrees.

“Our Board members are delighted to support this innovative program,” said Paul “Dino” Dinovitz, Executive Director of the Hearst Foundations. “Student research overseen by faculty advisors benefits students and faculty alike. We applaud the University of Portland for its commitment to providing students with meaningful research opportunities.”

In recent years, University of Portland students during the summer have been involved in projects that include taxol research in the ongoing fight to cure cancer, salmon habitat monitoring and restoration of clear-water streams near Mount Hood, development of compounds to fight the West Nile virus, and investigation of effects of exercise on brain function.

This is not the first time UP has received funding from Hearst. In 1993, University of Portland joined other universities in its Hearst Scholars Program. Since the first grant of $100,000 was received, the University has awarded 87 scholarships to deserving students who meet the scholarship criteria. The University of Portland’s William Randolph Hearts Endowed Scholarship Fund has grown to more than $400,000, and during the past three years the total amount available for scholarships has averaged between $15,000 and $18,000.

The Hearst Foundations, headquartered in New York City (The Hearst Foundation, Inc., and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation) is a national philanthropic resource for organizations and institutions working in the fields of Education, Health, Culture and Social Service, with a goal to ensure that people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.

The grant is part of the RISE campaign, which was announced in December 2010 and seeks to raise $175 million over the next several years, which would result in one of the largest development campaigns ever for a Pacific Northwest private college or university.

The campaign’s goals are divided into four major themes, each with funding targets: (1) Pursuing academic excellence and faculty funding -- $70 million; (2) Providing access for all students and direct assistance -- $45 million; (3) Developing faith and leadership – $10 million; and (4) Enriching the campus community and physical resources -- $50 million.