Center for Community OutReach Development (CORD)

Director:  J. Michael Wyss, PhD

Established:  1998

 

The Center for Community OutReach Development (CORD) was established by UAB in 1998 to advance the outreach efforts of UAB in the Birmingham community.  CORD's primary focus is on advancing K-12 science education in the area and throughout the state and nation.  We are particularly interested in developing programs that will decrease the regional, racial and gender disparity in science, math and engineering, by early engagement of students in science and the development of their competitiveness for the best college science and math programs.   These programs will build an exceptional science workforce locally and nationally; a workforce that will strengthen America’s position as the economic leader in science and technology.

CORD offers grades K-12 students and teachers from all areas in-depth, hands-on, inquiry-based science experiences both during the school year and in our more intensive summer programs.  Students experience these programs at their Birmingham area schools, at CORD’s GENEius and LabWorks! classrooms at the McWane Science Center, and in CORD’s laboratory classrooms at UAB.  CORD offices are on the fifth floor of the Community Health Services Building 19 (CHSB19), at 933 Nineteenth Street South.

 

The Center’s outreach extramurally funded programs include:

 

Summer Programs

 

  • Summer Science Institute – for high school students (two eight-week programs)

Fundamentals of Cellular and Molecular Biology (grades 9-11)
Advanced Principles of Biology and Neurobiology (grades 10-11)
Research Internship (grades 11-12)

  • ChemBridge – a two week summer program for recent 8th grade graduates
  • Summer Science Camps – for middle school students (six one-week camps)

·         BioTeach – a three-week educational program in molecular biology for high school teachers

  • Genetics Teacher Education Institute with in-class modules available to graduates
  • Microbiology Teacher Education Institute with in-class modules available to graduates
  • AMSTI-UAB Summer Institute – two-week training in Science and Math inquiry-based education for area K-12 teachers
  • ALADDIN – a two-year adventure into computer information science, linear algebra and 3-D visualization for high school students and teachers

 

Academic School Year Programs

 

      At McWane Science Center’s CORD Labs:

  • GENEius (high school science and public program)
  • LabWorks! (middle school science and public program)
  • My Lab (K-5 science and public program)

 

In Area Classrooms:

  • AMSTI-UAB (inquiry-based math and science education for about 70,000 area students)
  • Classroom Science Modules
  • Hands-On in-class inquiry-based science education for middle school students
  • Bridges to Health Professions (semester-long introduction for high school students)
  • Book Club (monthly book readings with school administrators)
  • Weekend Academy (K-8 standardized test preparation for the state SAT)

 

Also:

  • Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair (CARSEF) and Programs to assist students and teachers in the development of competitive Science Fair Projects

 

For additional information:

            Email:  ccord@uab.edu

            Phone:  205-934-5171

            Fax :  205-934-5158

 

 

Approved by:  S.S. Ginwright for J. Michael Wyss, PhD, Director

Date:  April 8, 2008

 

 

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