Nearly $13,000 in grants was awarded by the UCA Foundation this spring to faculty for scholarly programs and projects.
The UCA Foundation awards grants twice each year to faculty for programs that enhance learning opportunities at UCA.
These grants, generally in amounts less than $3,000, are intended to encourage creative programs that may serve as “seeds” for future programs and provide for deserving programs and activities. The grants are funded through unrestricted gifts to the UCA Foundation.
According to Dr. Lance Grahn, provost and vice president for academic affairs, “Such grants are essential to the vitality of teaching and learning at UCA. Foundation grants to faculty and professional staff support a variety of educational endeavors, all of which directly benefit students and faculty and enrich our academic efforts. And, quite simply, none of this would be possible without the generosity of donors whose unrestricted gifts to the UCA Foundation fund this grant program. I am very grateful to everyone whose unrestricted giving supports mentored undergraduate research and the development of new academic initiatives at UCA.”
Tim Thornes in the Department of Writing was awarded a grant for his proposal, “Community role of this linguist: student engagement in practical approaches to language preservation and revitalization.” Thornes will take linguistics students to the 38th Annual Symposium of the American Indian and the Oklahoma Workshop on Native American Languages in Talequah, Okla.
Catherine Swift in the Division of Undergraduate Studies was awarded a grant for her proposal, “Habitat for Humanity at the University of Central Arkansas.” Swift has proposed establishing a campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity International through collaboration among State Residential College, the College of Liberal Arts and the Faulkner County chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
Casey Griffith, Undergraduate Studies; Donna Bowman, Honors College; and Alison Hall, College of Liberal Arts, were awarded a grant for their proposal, “Service-Learning Workshop: Building Capacity for Student Success.”
Griffith, Bowman and Hall will organize an online audio seminar that will introduce 15 to 20 participating faculty to service learning ideas, as well as a one-day workshop that will be an active-learning experience in which 20 faculty will receive training and guidance from and experienced service-learning professional.
Joanna Castner Post and Jennifer Deering from the Department of Writing were awarded a grant for their proposal, “UCA Writing Center Supports Literacy in Rural Arkansas.” Castner Post and Deering will work with UCA Writing Center tutors to develop a pilot community outreach project designed to support early literacy success in an elementary school at Mt. Vernon/Enola.
Rebecca Lancaster and Barbara Williams were awarded a grant for their proposal, “Communicating with Sensitivity.”
Lancaster and Williams will collaborate with a committee of volunteer faculty from UCA and representative of Conway Regional Medical Center and the Conway Regional Health Foundation to develop a series of programs designed to educate the general public about ways to effectively support friends in times of distress.
The intent of the project is to develop DVD presentations for information programs for civic groups, churches, schools, agencies and public service announcements to foster a greater understanding of how to help friends facing serious challenges.
For more information on UCA Foundation faculty grants, visit http://www.uca.edu/foundation/facultygrants.php.
– Jennifer Boyett
