C-BEF

The following resolution commending the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation, sponsored by Delegate Chris Peace (R-Hanover), passed the Virginia House and Senate unanimously.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 196

Offered January 27, 2010Commending the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation.

Patrons– Peace, Cosgrove, Loupassi and O’Bannon

WHEREAS, according to the National Academies of Science, the United States is falling dangerously behind other nations in developing its future workforce of scientists, engineers, and technology experts; and

WHEREAS, according to the national 4-H Council, a mere five percent of current United States college graduates earn science, engineering, or technology degrees, compared with 66 percent in Japan and 59 percent in China; and

WHEREAS, according to a survey by the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA), Virginia ranked twenty-fifth in the United States in the number of biochemists and biophysicists and twenty-ninth in the number of biomedical engineers per 100,000 civilian workers; and

WHEREAS, the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation (C-BEF), a Richmond, Virginia-based nonprofit organization, was formed to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula and to develop and promote programs to encourage young students to engage in the challenging work of math and science so that they are not precluded from subsequent career choices in the biosciences; and

WHEREAS, the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation funds summer internships for Virginia students to learn about careers in the life sciences; and

WHEREAS, the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation organizes and funds awards for excellence in the life sciences at the annual Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair; and

WHEREAS, the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation has made significant financial grants to expand the “Biotech in a Box” program at Virginia Tech, thereby materially increasing the number of schools and students who are able to benefit from the program; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend and congratulate the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation for its service to young people across Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the board of directors of the Chesapeake Bioscience Education Foundation as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for the organization’s commitment to improving the quality of life for all Virginians.