Baxter International Inc. donates $5 million to develop science schools and district-wide Biotech Instruction program.

CHICAGO, Ill., October 23, 2008 — Mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicago Public Schools (CPS), announced today that Baxter International Inc. will donate $5 million over five years to support CPS district science initiatives — the first program ever to fund biotech education in CPS history. This significant contribution has the potential to impact more than 450 CPS teachers through professional development and 75,000 students — all at the junior high and high school level — who by the year 2012 will benefit from the new innovative schools, enhanced teacher skill set, materials, and direct interaction with Baxter scientists and engineers.

“This contribution has the potential to have a major impact on hundreds of our teachers and thousands of our students, and on behalf of all our residents I want to thank Baxter International for its strong and consistent support of education in Chicago,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley at Lindblom Math and Science Academy, 6130 S. Wolcott St., a recipient of grant funds.

The donation from Baxter will go toward three science initiatives as part of SCIENCE@WORK: Expanding Minds with Real-World Science: 1) The development of a Biotechnology Center of Excellence at Lindblom Math & Science Academy; 2) The launch of two new Renaissance 2010 schools through The Renaissance Schools Fund, and; 3) Support for Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Instructional Development System program to enrich teacher professional development at participating schools and provide broader student access to science and biotechnology. It is anticipated that through the cascading effect of the programs the partners provide, SCIENCE@WORK will impact 96 teachers annually — 30 teachers via Lindblom Math & Science Academy teacher training and 66 teachers via IIT’s teacher training system. In turn, the enhanced teacher training will impact 15,000 students per year. Over five years, the program could reach up to 90 percent of the nearly 500 biology teachers in CPS and 67 percent of the 112,000 high school students in CPS currently.

“Baxter is bringing science directly to our students in an exciting way, while also setting a remarkable example for other corporate partners to follow,” said Rufus Williams, president of the Chicago Board of Education. “Thank you, Baxter, for this amazing investment in Chicago Public Schools.”

“We have a responsibility to ensure future generations are given every opportunity to be educated and inspired by science,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., chairman and CEO of Baxter International Inc. “In order for students to compete — to get into colleges and get jobs — they need to understand the convergence of the sciences, how biology, engineering, chemistry and all the sciences work together to create and innovate.

Baxter’s participation during last year’s CPS “Principal for a Day” program and introduction to Hortense Brice, a 41–year CPS teacher, were the catalysts for the company’s investment. Brice currently directs the science department at Lindblom and is also the only CPS teacher leading a year-long course in biotechnology.

SCIENCE@WORK will extend the many Baxter volunteer opportunities already established at the company. In 2007, employees contributed more than 40,000 hours of time to the community in northern Illinois. This program will deepen Baxter’s commitment to education and volunteerism — especially for Baxter scientists who will personally teach science to CPS teachers — in the Chicago area communities in which Baxter operates.

Today’s announcement results in part from an ongoing strong partnership between Baxter and the iBIO Institute. Baxter provided seed funding to the Institute, which, combined with contributions from the City of Chicago, iBIO and other corporate citizens, provided $1 million in program startup funds. Since then, that partnership has focused on educational programs for teacher development in biotechnology and state-of-the-art lab methods, as well as problem-based learning for K-12 students. iBIO provided important counsel to Baxter as the company laid the groundwork for the new SCIENCE@WORK initiative.

"We are so pleased that IIT has been included in SCIENCE@WORK,” said IIT’s Mathematics and Science Education Professor and Chair Norman G. Lederman. “We will continue to strengthen and expand curriculum and offer professional development opportunities for teachers that will stimulate interest and knowledge of biotechnology for CPS students."

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