Saba Rasheed Ali, an associate professor in the University of Iowa Counseling Psychology Department in the College of Education, received a Roy J. Carver charitable trust grant of more than $11,000 to expand a career education program called Project HOPE (Healthcare, Occupations, Preparation, Exploration): Pipeline Education for Underserved Rural Students.The initiative will allow middle school students to explore future job opportunities in the health science field. The project focuses on rural areas in Iowa that include a large Mexican immigrant population.

In addition to the UI College of Education, other areas collaborating on this project with the West Liberty and Columbus Community Middle Schools include the UI health science colleges (Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, Nursing and Dentistry), the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa and the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).