SCI-Midwest and the Host Institution

Harold Washington College (HWC) is the host institution for the SCI-Midwest.  HWC is a learning-centered urban institution of higher education that offers accessible and affordable opportunities for academic advancement, career development, and personal enrichment.  The college is committed to upholding high institutional and academic standards and to both understanding and improving student learning.  The College is a diverse institution and one of the seven separately accredited schools that make up the City Colleges of Chicago.

Areas of Expertise and Focus

SCI-Midwest initiatives are open to participants around the U.S. but are primarily designed to address the needs and interests of individuals in Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio.

The SCI-Midwest group has broad expertise among its members, but has a particular interest in public health issues (including asthma, childhood nutrition, and HIV/AIDS), water quality in the Great Lakes region, teacher education, math and civic engagement, service-learning, and linking classroom learning to real-life applications.

Upcoming Events

SENCER Summer Institute 2009

August 6-10, 2009, Hosted by Harold Washington College (Chicago, IL)

The SENCER Summer Institutes are residential, intensive experiences for educators, administrators, and students. Participation is by invitation only and applications must be submitted by March 2, 2009 for consideration.

Please visit the SSI 2009 page on this website to learn more about the Institutes and how to apply.

Recent Events

Meeting the Challenges of Great Lakes Stewardship: SENCER Approaches

March 27-28, 2009, Hosted by the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Great Lakes Science Center, and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)

The SENCER Center for Innovation – Midwest held a symposium designed to illuminate issues facing the Great Lakes basin that can be incorporated into undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses.  These courses will engage faculty and students in direct action and research, educate the general public, empower the public to have a positive impact on the ecosystem, and become the foundation of a vibrant network of academic and community-based organizations.

Indiana Schools Meeting

December 5, 2008, Hosted by Butler University

On December 5th, Butler University hosted a series of discussions and presentations on SENCER with faculty across the Butler campus and colleagues from central Indiana schools. David Burns, SENCER PI, and Dennis Lehman, co-director of the SENCER Center for Innovation-Midwest, attended the event and David delivered the closing plenary talk. Departments including biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology, and education were represented throughout the day’s program, which touched on topics including experiential education, designing SENCER courses, and the SENCER approach, in general. The symposium was coordinated by Joseph Kirsch, Margaret Brabant, Robert Holm, and Donald Braid, SENCER alumni who have been deeply involved in the development of an impressive suite of SENCER courses at Butler.