Daily Skiff

If you've never heard of the university's Institute on Women and Gender, chances are you're not alone.

With the odd event here and there throughout the academic year, the program goes largely unnoticed on campus. Officials with the institute and the women's studies department said that the purpose of a new grant, worth $400 in travel costs, is to increase the number of opportunities that students doing research on gender or women's issues receive to study outside the university. Not only does this award increase the potential for scholarship in a rarely publicized field, it helps extend the reach of the university's academic integrity. Yes, research on gender equality presented to one's classroom has value, but the same findings presented to a group of hundreds of scholars in New York, for instance, is worth inestimably more.

Each year, students from several departments, including modern languages, business and environmental science, receive scholarships to study outside of Fort Worth, the state and even the country. While the award may be worth less than some might wish, its creation signals an important opportunity for the university to further embrace diversity in research.

News editor Melanie Cruthirds for the editorial board.

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