MANTH, SCIENCE STUDENTS TARGETED BY ACADEMY

For folks in Southeast Missouri, it's a long way diagonally across the state to Northwest Missouri. In that part of the state, Maryville is the home to Northwest Missouri State University. Like our own Southeast Missouri State University, Northwest's roots are in teacher education. Over the years, all of the state's regional universities have looked for specialty areas to attract students and reduce or eliminate duplication of programs.

At Northwest, one new initiative is something called the Missouri Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing. The dean of this new academy, Dr. Russell F. Pinizzotto, drove all the way to Cape Girardeau from Maryville recently to talk about the academy and its plans for the future. Anyone who has made the drive knows Pinizzotto could have been almost to Canada in the same amount of time it takes to get to Cape Girardeau. So Pinizzotto must have had something important to say to come all that way.

Indeed he did. The academy is for bright high school students who have an aptitude for science and math. High school sophomores who meet the rigorous entrance requirements will be invited to finish their high school studies at Northwest in a residential program much like other university students. If they complete the program, they will not only get their high school diploma from the academy, but also 65 credit hours toward a university degree. What this amounts to is getting about half of a bachelor's degree while finishing high school.

The idea for such an academy is new to Missouri, but it didn't originate at Northwest. According to Pinizzotto, about a dozen states have 42 similar programs. He went to Northwest to start its academy after a stint at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, which has graduated more than 1,300 students.

Students who complete similar academy programs are in high demand at the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher learning. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, rarely accepts more than one student in any freshman class from a single high school. Pinizzotto says eight of the Texas academy's graduates last year were offered coveted slots at MIT.

There is little doubt that highly trained scientists will be in demand as our technological age advances. Programs like the special academy at Northwest are an important step in recognizing the need for an emphasis on science and math. Watch out for Northwest's new program. It is likely to become a leader in Missouri in this area.