Through the ALRISE Alliance, Central Arizona College received $15,000 in grant funding to develop two Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences, or CUREs.

The funds are supporting work being done by biology faculty members Majid Ghaninia and Sunjung Park.

Ghaninia is in the developmental stages of a biology CURE focusing on plant pests, according to a CAC press release. His work is continuing this fall.

Park provided an opportunity for her students to study and label native plants at the college’s San Tan Campus.

Students collected samples and created labels that include the plant name in both English and Spanish, creating a permanent display of the student’s work and an opportunity for community members visiting the campus to learn about CAC plant life, the release continued.

In addition, Park’s students created reports for the samples they collected that showcase the plant origin, growth habitat, blooming period, uses and interesting facts.

Each of the students’ reports from the spring 2024 semester highlight the natural beauty of the plants and are viewable on the CAC website at https://centralaz.edu/cac-plant-survey/.

 “It is our intent to finish the tree labeling for all four campuses and the communities around our campuses. This project was also made possible through the assistance of Erick Peterson, an instructional specialist in the math division, and Chrystal Barcenas, CAC’s web content assistant,” Park stated in the release.

The ALRISE Alliance, part of the National Science Foundation, is a national Networked Improvement Community comprised of local and regional emerging Hispanic Serving Institution members, their educators and community partners. They all collaborate to accelerate Latinx representation in STEM education through culturally responsive experiential learning.