NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) has awarded nearly$3 millionin new cooperative agreements to four Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) acrossthe United Statesto enhance learning through the use of the agency's Earth science resources.

The award is made through the NASA Innovations in Climate Education-Tribal (NICE-T) activity. The selected institutions are:

-- College of Menominee Nations,Keshena, Wis. --Turtle Mountain Community College,Belcourt, N.D. -- Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College,Cloquet, Minn. --Salish Kootenai College,Pablo, Mont.

The awards, which have a 3-year period of performance and range in value from approximately$413,000to$1,009,000, support tribal colleges and their partners as they improve teaching and learning about global climate change on their campuses.

The winning proposals illustrated innovative uses of NASA content to support elementary, secondary and undergraduate teaching and learning. There is a strong emphasis on engaging students using NASA Earth observation data and Earth system models, as well as providing climate-related research experiences for teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, particularly in the TCU community.

NASA Langley Research Center inHampton, Va., provides management and administration for the NICE-T activity. NICE-T supports NASA's goal of engaging students in the critical disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and inspiring the next generation of explorers.

The cooperative agreements are part of NASA's strategic emphasis on engaging the Tribal community. For a list of selected organizations and projects' descriptions, click on "Selected Proposals" and see the entry for "2013 NASA Innovations in Climate Education -Tribal (NICE-T)," visit:http://nspires.nasaprs.com

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/education

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NASA Announces 2014 Innovations in Climate Education Tribal Awards