The University of Memphis has been given money to investigate the Memphis aquifer, signed a research agreement with the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the university decreased tuition for out-of-state students.
The university received $5 million to investigate water quality
The Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering, known as CAESER, at the U of M has been awarded a five-year $5 million grant to preserve the quality of the drinking water in the Memphis aquifer. The money will allow U of M graduate students to work with MLGW to identify problems with the aquifer.
“We at U of M have been investigating the local groundwater for the last 25 years,” said Brian Waldron, the director of CAESER. “We have the expertise at the ready to kick the project off.”
Graduate students from the Herff College of Engineering, experts from other colleges on campus and CAESER itself will be investigating breaches in the layer of clay sitting above the aquifer that could let in contaminants. CAESER will also be mapping the aquifer and exploring how water usage patterns affect the quality of local drinking water.
“The University of Memphis is very fortunate to receive a $5 million contract to perform pivotal research for future generations of Memphians in order to protect our drinking water,” said U of M president M. David Rudd in a press release.
University signs research agreement with Czech Academy of Sciences.
The U of M became the first university in the United States to sign a research agreement with the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) a group of 54 research institutions in the Czech Republic, on Oct. 25. The purpose of the agreement is to extend the reach and impact of the U of M’s research.
“Strong partnerships like this with the Czech Academy of Sciences will allow us to leverage research funding on both sides of the Atlantic based on our respective strengths,” Rudd said in a press release.
Both the U of M and CAS are trying to globalize their research and impact by partnering with international research institutions. The partnership with the CAS will allow U of M students and faculty to collaborate with people from CAS to conduct research and produce high-impact grant-funded projects in a variety of science and infrastructure related fields.
The U of M reduces out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state and international students will have their tuition costs reduced under a new tuition structure that was approved by the board of trustees in Septemeber. The tuition changes will apply to students living outside of a 250-mile radius of the U of M.
“We recognized that we as a University needed to take the issue of cost head-on,” said U of M CFO Raaj Kurapati in a press release. “We believe that going forward, the way to continue to keep costs down for all students is to build our overall student base.”
Under the new tuition structure, out-of-state students will have to pay $160 more per credit hour than in-state students, and international students will have to pay $320 more per credit hour.
Online students and Tennessee residents, including students from DeSoto, Marshall, Tate and Tunica counties in Mississippi and Crittenden County in Arkansas, will not see a change in their tuition.
“We build a strong student base by recruiting the best and brightest students from Tennessee and nationally by offering high-quality programs at the lowest possible price point,” Kurapati said. “Our new tuition structure aims to do just that while we continue to make strategic investments to build and sustain first-rate academic programs.”
