First USA Biology Olympiad Established by Center for Excellence in Education USABO Blue Ribbon Committee Formed Vienna, Virginia, March 7, 2003--The Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) today announced the addition of a prestigious new competition—the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO)--to its repertoire of premier educational awards programs. The USA Biology Olympiad is a first: the U.S. participates in Olympiads in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Science but this is the first time that Biology has entered this level of competition. The top twenty winners of the U.S. Olympiad will compete for a position on the four-member team that will represent the U.S. at the International Biology Olympiad in Belarus. They will train at George Mason University, a supporter of the USA Biology Olympiad. "The mission of the USABO is to help American High School Students reach the gold standard in biology through participation in the International Biology "Olympiad," says Joann P. DiGennaro, President of the Center for Excellence in Education. According to Ms. DiGennaro, "this competition encourages excellence in biology education throughout the United States." All U.S. high school students are eligible to participate in the competition. Funding sources for the USA Biology Olympiad include corporations, individuals, and private foundations. Supporters of the USA Biology Olympiad include many of the top companies in the nation, such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Company Foundation, Pfizer, Pharmacia, General Motors, Baxter International, Exponent Failure Analysis, LSU Health Science Foundation, Psychemedics Corporation, Maximus International, LLC and BioGen. A Blue Ribbon Committee for the USA Biology Olympiad has been named. Consisting of corporate and academic leaders, Nobel Laureates and others committed to fostering leadership and excellence in biology education in the U.S., the Blue Ribbon Committee guides the strategic growth of the program, appoints members to the Academic Committee and deals with high-level issues relevant to science and technology. Members of this prestigious panel include: Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, (D-Connecticut)
Dr. David Baltimore, President, California Institute of Technology
Dr. Malcolm Gillis, President, Rice University, Houston, Texas
Dr. Alan Merten, President, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Dr. Charles Vest, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mrs. Gayle Wilson, Former First Lady of California
Ms. Deborah Dingell, Vice Chair, General Motors Foundation
Mr. Mel Chaskin, President and CEO, Vanguard Research, Inc.
Dr. Mary DeLong, Director, Office of Graduate Programs, National Institutes of Health
Mr. Edward Greissing, Vice President of Global Government Affairs, Pharmacia
Ms. Misty Gruber, Esq., Sonnenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal.
# # # CONTACT:
Maite Ballestero
Vice President, Programs
Center for Excellence in Education
703-448-9062 ext 235
maite@cee.org
|
|