Area preschoolers are about to get a Bright Start Right Start through a new initiative designed to help fuel children’s science skills through their natural curiosity.

The Fort Wayne program came about through a partnership between Indiana Michigan Power, through the AEP Foundation, and Fort Wayne’s Early Childhood Alliance.

Kelli Shrewsberry, director of teaching and learning collaborative for the Columbus, Ohio-based Bright Start Right Start, traveled to Fort Wayne recently and led a series of workshops at the offices of the Early Childhood Alliance.

About 15 pre-kindergarten educators took part in the training, including Dawn Cole-Easterday, Early Childhood Alliance curriculum trainer.

Children are natural scientists, Shrewsberry said, and it’s the perfect time to foster that natural interest at a young age.

Cole-Easterday will facilitate the next group of pre-K educators, expected to take place next year. Others involved in the program include Barb Roberts at Fort Wayne Community Schools and Zeynep Isik-Ercan of IPFW.

Teachers were sent home with $400 packs that include science materials, books and a teaching guide with a family component.

“Fort Wayne is the first city in our service area to benefit from this exciting program,” said Kim Sabrosky, community relations manager for Indiana Michigan Power. “Bright Start Right Start has been introduced in other parts of the AEP service area with tremendous success, and we are confident that it will catch on here too.”

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Recognitions

•Kayleigh Hutson, a student at Bishop Luers High School, has been awarded the $5,000 Philip and Katherine Bail Personal Achievement Scholarship.

•Linda Alt, Canterbury High School speech teacher and speech team coach, has earned the Professional Forensic Educator accreditation through the National Forensic League.

Grace

•Mark Norris, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences and chairman of the Department of History and Political Science, was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Indiana Council for the Social Studies.

•Jared Burkholder, associate professor of American and world history, has been invited to serve as the program chair for the 2012 student meeting of the Conference on Faith and History in at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

Huntington

•G. Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University, has been named to a three-year term on the board of directors for the American Council on Education.

Indiana Tech

•The school has six new fully endowed scholarships, including an endowment established by the alumni brothers of the Kappa Delta Chapter of Theta Xi fraternity, and Blaise J. Alexander of Muncy, Pa., announced a matching dollar commitment to the money raised by his fraternity brothers. Additional new scholarships: Sengstack Family Leadership; Ryan Baxter Memorial; John and Mary Turchick Memorial; Jack Dierkes Memorial; and the Eric C. Welch Law scholarship. A minimum of $20,000 is required to endow a named scholarship.

IPFW

•The Indiana Campus Compact Northern Regional Networking Council will hold a conference in the Walb Union Ballroom from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday with Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry as the keynote speaker. The event is free to ICC members. Non-member registration is $50 for students and $150 for all others. For more information, contact Deb Barrick at 481-5471 or barrickd@ipfw.edu.

•IPFW’s College of Art and Sciences will present “Feeding the City: A Panel Discussion” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Walb Union Ballroom. The free presentation open to the public.

Saint Francis

•The following people were recently elected to three-year terms on the University of Saint Francis board of trustees: Kathryn Callen, Steve Corona, Richard Fox, Dr. B. Matthew Hicks, David Lupke, Thomas Obergfell and Richard Yarger, all of Fort Wayne, and Sister Margaret Mary Mitchel, OSF of Mishawaka.

Taylor

•The university is constructing a $10 million, 150-bed residence hall, with completion set for the fall of 2013.