National grant supports MSU researcher’s project connecting language, environmental education to elementary students
Contact: Katherine Murphy
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso, an assistant professor specializing in teaching English to speakers of other languages and linguistics, will help Magnolia State elementary students learn about environmental issues and their impact on communities.
Cardozo-Gaibisso, an English department faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences, is serving as coprincipal investigator with Principal Investigator Ayca Fackler of the University of Missouri on a $427,478 grant from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The project aims to help disadvantaged communities in Mississippi explore and learn more about water and climate challenges, and their effects on local environments.
The “SEMILLAS: Sowing Environmental Multilingualism—Integrating Learning, Linguistics and Action in Science” project is one of nine nationwide initiatives selected for more than $4 million in funding through the GRP’s effort, Empowering K-8 Youth Through Place-Based Education Projects and Programs. SEMILLAS brings together collaborators from UM, MSU and the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
According to Cardozo-Gaibisso’s research, approximately 70% of Mississippi students come from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cardozo-Gaibisso said the grant “supports the next generation of informed citizens, scientists and decision-makers in understanding the challenges of their local communities.”
MSU Department of English Professor and Head Lara Dodds said the project’s impact extends well beyond the classroom.
“Dr. Cardozo-Gaibisso integrates research and practice with the ultimate goal of improving the learning of multilingual students in Mississippi and beyond. The research and outreach produced by this grant will directly benefit our community and schoolchildren over the next two years,” Dodds said.
She added that Cardozo-Gaibisso, who also is a research fellow at MSU’s Social Science Research Center, is recognized as an “innovative researcher and dedicated educator in the department.”
Cardozo-Gaibisso was recognized as one of only five 2024 Early-Career Research Fellows in Education Research by the GRP, an honor highlighting innovative contributions to STEM and environmental education in the Gulf region and Alaska. In 2023, she also was named a promising scholar by the North American Systemic Functional Linguistics Association.
Originally from Uruguay, Cardozo-Gaibisso earned a master’s degree in education from Universidad ORT Uruguay and a bachelor’s degree in English teaching from Instituto de Profesores Artigas before completing a Ph.D. in language and literacy education, TESOL and world language education from the University of Georgia.
For more information about MSU's College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of English, visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.english.msstate.edu.
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