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Partnerships and Initiatives

The Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is proud of its cutting-edge and renowned community partnership initiatives:

Pre-med mentor program

In 2009, Dominican University of California in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente-Northern California created the Pre-Med Mentor Program for undergraduate students to experience firsthand—a day in the life of a doctor.  The program provides students in-depth exposure to the medical field early on in their education, helping them make a more informed choice when choosing a career in medicine. 

Each student is matched with a Mentor, a Marin County Kaiser Permanente Physician, who they meet with regularly throughout the year.  The program is especially committed to providing general medicine and general surgery mentors to showcase the rewards of being a primary care physician.  In addition, students explore various specialties through rotations, exposing them to areas of medicine they may have not considered.  This program affords students an amazing opportunity to observe the medical field outside of a text book—by shadowing doctors, interacting with patients, and witnessing surgical procedures. 

INTERGENERATIONAL CONVERSATION

The Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is working with the Marin County Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services to bring pre-med students together with local seniors to foster conversation and bridge the generations in understanding.  With an increasing elderly population it is important that our future health professionals understand how to communicate with seniors and demonstrate patience, tolerance and advocacy.

Many of our students have no living grandparents and this is their first opportunity to really sit and talk with a senior citizen.  In addition, many of the seniors live alone and have few family or friends around to visit.  This program helps fill that void.

MARIN MATH CIRCLE

The purpose of the Marin Math Circle is to bring together students to enjoy logical and mathematical problem solving. The Marin Math Circle aims to:

  • Introduce students to the wonders of beautiful mathematical theories, presented by mathematicians with a passion for teaching
  • Provide students a place to have fun solving problems together with their peers
  • Prepare students for math contests
  • Encourage students to undertake future careers linked with mathematics, whether as mathematicians, educators, economists, biologists, or business entrepreneurs. Learn more.

MESA

The mission of MESA program is to promote math and science education for disadvantaged and underrepresented middle school and high school students so they can excel academically and become competitively eligible for the most rigorous colleges and universities. Our hope is for the MESA students served through Dominican University of California to go on to serve their families and communities in a variety of math and science-based careers.

The program serves about 80 students in grades 6–12 from participating school sites in Marin County. This program partners with principles, teachers, administrators, school district officials and industry representatives. Learn more.

NATIONAL ORNAMENTALs RESEARCH SITE (NORS-DUC)

The National Ornamentals Research Site at Dominican University of California (NORS-DUC) is the first research site in the United States dedicated to the study of pests and diseases affecting the health of ornamental plants.

The facility is funded by a grant from the 2008 Farm Bill, administered through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST).

NORS-DUC is a secure site modeled to reflect a nursery for the purpose of performing studies on nursery stock in a “real world” environment while ensuring high level safeguards to prevent the escape of pests that affect plant health.

Scientists from the national and international research community will initially conduct studies focused on understanding and controlling the long-range spread of Phytophthora ramorum through infested nursery stock shipments. Learn more.