UB Launches Life Sciences Academy at West Seneca Central School District

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The iSciWNY workforce development program, created by the University at Buffalo's New York Center for Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences and Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), is collaborating with the West Seneca Central School District to create a first-of-its-kind academy that links high school students with potential employers in Western New York's growing life sciences industry.

The first group of students will enter the Academy of Life Sciences in the fall at West Seneca's two high schools.

The new academy will help fill a regional gap in pre-college preparation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Through classroom-based activities and internships, it aims to provide high school students with the practical skills they need to pursue careers in the life sciences industry, and create an educated workforce for area employers.

"It is actually a national problem that K-12 curricula often do not align with the needs of employers in the life sciences," says Marnie B. LaVigne, PhD, director of business development at the Center for Excellence. "We need to make this vital connection and prepare our workforce for the future."

With EOC's director, Sherryl D. Weems, EdD, LaVigne formally launched iSciWNY in 2009 to address these missing connections. "While the academy-learning concept is cropping up around the country, West Seneca is at the forefront in creating a life sciences academy," LaVigne says.

Through its career development website ( http://isciwny.com) and training programs, iSciWNY provides the eight counties of Western New York with virtual tours of area life sciences companies, career information for adults and students, and training and resources for teachers. It also offers links to free workshops, short courses and certificate and degree programs to train jobseekers for a variety of life sciences careers, including lab sciences, manufacturing, information technology, engineering and business.

West Seneca Central (WSC) is a local pioneer in academy learning. The district also offers academies in finance, pre-engineering, visual arts, education, information technology and education.

Freshmen will be able to apply to attend the three-year life sciences academy beginning in their sophomore year. Graduates will earn a Regents Diploma with a certificate of study in life science studies.

The academy will offer courses in two main tracks -- lab sciences and non-technical business --that are similar to the iSciWNY format. Course topics will include biotechnical engineering, medical ethics, entrepreneurship and marketing, and such soft skills as communications and public speaking. The academy also will offer field trips, team projects and in-school speakers, and will emphasize internships at area companies.

"We all know the reality by now, that the internship is key to getting a job in today's economy, and the life sciences are no different," says LaVigne.

Timothy A. Oldenburg, director of the WSC academies, says their main goal is to create better pathways to employment after high school and college. "Employers are always saying, 'I wish graduates would have x, y and z experience,'" he says. "We want to differentiate our students, give them opportunities to leave high school hitting the ground running."

Along with school board members and teachers, industry professionals sit on the academies' advisory boards and visit classrooms to give students insider viewpoints and networking tips.

"It's a school-within-a-school model," explains Oldenburg of the smaller academy classes, adding that the advisory boards help break down the walls of the classroom.

David Frasier, assistant dean of the UB School of Management and administrative director of its graduate programs, is a founding advisory board member of WSC's 12-year-old finance academy. He says the academies give students a considerable edge in understanding the potential of specific careers. "What's great about engaging them at that stage is twofold; if they decide to go on as a professional, it provides an early perspective and builds their industry connections."

"A life sciences academy must train young students how to design and develop hypothesis-based experiments, implement their work and follow it to a result-based conclusion," adds Linda Webster, a project manager at Cleveland BioLabs and a member of the academy's advisory board.

Oldenburg, LaVigne and the advisory board will finish developing academy's curriculum this spring, with programming input from the West Seneca School Board. All of WSC's science teachers and guidance counselors have taken iSciWNY's "train the trainer" program, and the first cohort of students will enter the academy in the fall of 2012 at the district's two high schools.

Just as iSciWNY's workforce development model has drawn the attention of other regions statewide and across the U.S., LaVigne says the new academy is being designed to become a regional and national model to strengthen pipelines between the life sciences industry and education.

iSciWNY is funded by Bank of America, the Department of Labor, Genesee County Economic Development Center, the Life Technologies Foundation and UB. Funding and sponsorship for the Academy of Life Sciences is provided by its advisory board.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.