Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 4.djvu/580

 104 STAT. 2896 PUBLIC LAW 101-589—NOV. 16, 1990 striking "or nationals" and inserting ", nationals or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens". 20 USC 5343. SEC. 303. GRADUATE TRAINEESHIPS. (a) IN GENERAL.— The Director is authorized to carry out a competitive, merit-based program of making awards to institutions of higher education to enable such institutions to conduct traineeship programs which encourage promising students, especially women and minorities, to continue their education and research in mathematics, science and engineering. (b) SPECIAL RULE.— In making awards pursuant to subsection (a), the Director shall, to the extent practicable, ensure— (1) an equitable geographic distribution of such grants; (2) that institutions of higher education receiving such awards demonstrate experience in, and a commitment to, educating and graduating a significant number of women and minority students in mathematics, science and engineering; and (3) that special consideration is given to institutions of higher education that have demonstrated progress and an ongoing commitment to upgrading their capabilities to perform high quality research, and are not among the institutions currently receiving a large number of students with National Science Foundation graduate fellowships. PART B—CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE 20 USC 5351. SEC. 311. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING. (a) ESTABLISHMENT. — The Director shall establish a program of making awards to encourage institutions of higher education to improve, and to give greater attention to, undergraduate instruction in science, mathematics and engineering. Awards under this section shall be made on a competitive, merit review basis to faculty with a record of excellence in teaching using the criteria described in subsection (c). Awards under this section shall be for a 3-year period, and the amount of each award shall be comparable to those under the Presidential Young Investigator program. (b) USE OF FUNDS.— Awards made under this section shall be iised to improve the quality of undergraduate instruction at the recipient institution. Awards made under this section may be used for such purposes as— (1) development of innovative curriculum or teaching methods, including interdisciplinary courses and courses for nonscience majors; (2) purchase of eiducational equipment for use by students and faculty; (3) support for research and professional activities related to undergraduate education; and (4) support of teaching fellows. (c) CRITERIA.— Awards under this section shall be made on the basis of— (1) the commitment of the institution to improve undergraduate education in science, mathematics and engineering and to assign appropriate importance to undergraduate instruction in determining faculty compensation and as a criterion for faculty promotion; (2) the teaching ability and accomplishments of the faculty member applying for the award, including evidence that the

�