SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY

1 Morrow Way Slippery Rock, PA 16057 sru.edu 724.738.4926

Contact:
Jessica Keeley, Public Relations Rocket Writer
Office: (724)-738-2104
Cell: (724)-614-9744
JRK1504@sru.edu
For Immediate Release

Student Receives John Smith Grant to Research Changes in Local Ecosystems

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2014)Richard Jones, a 22-year-old biology student at Slippery
Rock University, conducts a research experiment involving the ecosystems in Slippery Rock
township Thursday.
Jones of Cleveland, Ohio, has been working alongside Dr. Mark Shotwell, biology professor at
SRU, since beginning his college career as a freshman. The pair applied for the John Smith
Grant of Pennsylvania in 2014 and was awarded the honor to conduct research. The grant is
funded by the John Smiths family in remembrance of his revolutionary research.
Biology was my first love and my second was nature, combining the two was the seamless
choice for me because I have the opportunity to make a difference in my community, said
Jones.
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Jones and Shotwell will begin their research in the spring of 2015 and it will continue throughout
each season. The pair hopes to determine what is causing the changes in the ecosystems of
Slippery Rock Township and will present their findings to the Board of Biology in April of 2016.
Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania's premier public residential university. Slippery Rock
University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally
combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a
positive difference in their lives.
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