Wilbur Wright College 4300 N. Narragansett  Chicago, IL 60634-1591  (773) 481-8979
	Victoria Cooper, Ph. D., Director Wright College, Environmental Technology Program Telephone: 773-481-8979 Fax: 773-481-8039 e-mail: vcooper@ccc.edu

A $250,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been awarded to the Environmental Technology Department of Wright College, 4300 N. Narragansett Ave. The grant will enable Wright to develop and implement an educational initiative targeting urban students with an interest in Environmental Technology. In collaboration with Chicago State University, Wright will prepare students for careers in Environmental Technology along with the NOAA sciences, including meteorology, geography, and earth science.

Projects such as augmenting an existing weather station with environmental monitoring equipment at Chicago State will take place and be available for Wright transfer students. Students will also have the opportunity to earn Global Positioning Systems/Geographic Information Systems (GPS/GIS) technology and participate in real world pollution monitoring of their local environment and valuable internship options.

There will be a recruiting effort among Chicago high school students interested in the Environmental Technology Program at Wilbur Wright College. After completion of the WWC program they will be able to attend Chicago State University for a Bachelors degree in Geography. This will be facilitated by the development of an articulation agreement between the Environmental Technology Program at Wright and the Chicago State Geography department, allowing students an ease of transfer on a carefully structured educational track.

Dr. Victoria Cooper, director of the Environmental Technology Department, will be the Principal investigator. Dr. Mark Bouman of Chicago State Department of Geography will be Co- Principal Investigator, and Denyse Kowalska will act as Project Coordinator between the two institutions.