Keck Graduate Institute

Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) is a private graduate school in Claremont, California. Founded by Henry Riggs in 1997, it is the seventh and newest member of the Claremont Colleges.

Keck Graduate Institute
Keck Graduate Institute logo
TypePrivate
Established1997 (1997)
Endowment$67.5 million (2019)[1]
PresidentSheldon Schuster
Students617[2]
Location
Claremont
,
CA
,
U.S.
CampusSuburban
Colors
  • Navy blue
  • Aqua
  • Red
     
AffiliationsClaremont Colleges
Websitewww.kgi.edu

History

Henry Riggs, then president of Harvey Mudd College, established the institute in 1997 to address what he perceived as a lack of scientists trained to convert new scientific discoveries into practical uses. He also became the institute's first president, serving until 2003.[3]

The decision to establish Keck Graduate Institute as a seventh Claremont College was met with some opposition, particularly from faculty of the other Claremont Colleges who objected to its lack of tenure, and environmentalists who opposed its plans to build a campus next to the Bernard Field Station, an area of undeveloped scrubland. The environmental issue was largely settled when KGI decided to establish its campus at a different location, and other opposition gradually faded.[3][4]

The institute received a $50 million endowment from the W. M. Keck Foundation, after which it was named. It awarded its first Master of Bioscience degree in 2002.[3]

In 2003, Sheldon Schuster became the second president in the institute's history. He took over from Riggs, who became chairman of the school's board of trustees. Schuster is a biochemist who previously served as director of the University of Florida's biotechnology research program.[5]

Academics
Keck Graduate Institute campus

Academic programs at KGI are organized into three schools: School of Applied Life Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and School of Medicine. Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.[6] The School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).[7] In August 2019, KGI appointed J. Mario Molina as dean of the new School of Medicine.[8]

In addition, KGI offers a four-year undergraduate program, the Minerva Schools at KGI, in partnership with the Minerva Project.[9] KGI also has a Master of Science in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling program accredited by Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling.[10]

Research centers
KGI is located south of the San Gabriel Mountains.

KGI maintains four research centers: the Center for Rare Disease Therapies,[11] the Center for Biomarker Research, the Science Heritage Center and the Amgen Bioprocessing Center. The Amgen Bioprocessing Center was funded by a 2004 grant of $2 million to KGI from Amgen, a pharmaceutical company based in Thousand Oaks, California.

On December 28, 2016, KGI announced a plan to start a Master of Science in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling program funded by an additional $1.5 million grant from Amgen.[12]

Spin-off companies

Ionian Technologies was founded in 2000, and was the first spin-off company to commercialize technology developed at KGI.[13] Ionian focuses on molecular diagnostics for emerging and infectious diseases,[14] and in 2004 was awarded a contract to develop a handheld biothreat detector using isothermal amplification of DNA.[15] Other KGI startups include Zuyder Pharmaceuticals and Claremont BioSolutions.

See also

References
  1. As of June 30, 2019. "U.S. and Canadian 2019 NTSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2019 Endowment Market Value, and Percentage Change in Market Value from FY18 to FY19 (Revised)". National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. "College Navigator - Keck Graduate Institute". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  3. Rigsby, Landus (May 9, 2007). "Keck Graduate Institute To Celebrate 10th Year At Weekend Commencement". Claremont Courier. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  4. "Keck foes persist in fight". Los Angeles Times (Claremont supplement). November 23, 2000.
  5. Hong, Peter Y. (2003-06-12). "Scientist Named Keck Graduate Institute President". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  6. "Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences". WASC Senior College and University Commission. June 24, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  7. "Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) School of Pharmacy". Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  8. Márquez, Liset (2019-08-27). "Former Molina Healthcare CEO named KGI medical school founding dean". Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  9. "This college startup has a 1.9% acceptance rate, making it tougher to get into than Harvard". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  10. "Program Directory". Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  11. "Drugs for rare disease out of reach for Bend patient". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  12. "Amgen makes master's program possible". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  13. Blish, Tipton (2002-03-08). "New Science Institute Spins Off Its 1st Firm". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  14. Van Ness, Jeffrey; Van Ness, Lori K.; Galas, David J. (2003-04-15). "Isothermal reactions for the amplification of oligonucleotides". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 100 (8): 4504–4509. doi:10.1073/pnas.0730811100. PMC 404692. PMID 12679520.
  15. Finegold, David (2005-04-01). "Alternative career options in the biomedical industry: the professional science master's degree". Nature Biotechnology. 23 (4): 503–504. doi:10.1038/nbt0405-503. ISSN 1087-0156. PMID 15815680.

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