Thirteen proposals will receive funding totaling nearly $104,000 through the President’s Seed Grant Initiative. Melissa Daly, Office of the President chief of staff, and Jason Freitag, professor in the Department of History, co-chaired the selection committee and announced the projects that will receive funding during the all-college gathering on Friday, January 26. There were 54 applications for the seed grants.
The winning proposals and project leads are:
• “360-degree videos for immersive learning,” Sebastian Harenberg, assistant professor, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences
• “Advancing Mid-Career Women’s Leadership,” Julie Dorsey, associate professor, Department of Occupational Therapy
• “Certified Peer Educators Program,” Michele Lenhart, director of student leadership and involvement, Office of Student Engagement and Multicultural Affairs
• “Enhancing disabilities resources and awareness on campus,” Deborah Merriman, assistant director of benefit programs, Human Resources
• “Extended view of self through art and microbiome,” Sarah Sutton, assistant professor, Department of Art
• “Monthly Campus Connections – Pop Up Pubs,” David Prunty, executive director, Auxiliary Services
• “’More than a postcard’ establishing the Creative Marketing Student Advisory Group,” Erin Davis, executive director creative strategy and development, College Relations and Communications
• “Step UP! – Training for Bystander Intervention,” Barbara Belyea, clinical professor and associate chair, Department of Physical Therapy
• “Surviving the Slump–Making connections during the Sophomore Year,” Katherine Burke, academic advisor, Academic Advising Center
• “Symposium on Culturally Responsive Pedagogy,” Matthew Clauhs, assistant professor, Music Education
• “The Experiential Learning Alliance,” Daniel Pascoe Aguilar, executive director, Career Services
• “Sustainability Week,” Duncan Duke, assistant professor, Management
• “Writing program for early career ALANA faculty,” Belisa Gonzalez, associate professor and director, Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity
During the meeting, members of two of the selected teams delivered brief presentations about their ideas. Leslie D’Arcy, Belisa Gonzales and Dave Prunty described “Pop Up Pubs,” a series of monthly social gatherings for faculty and staff. Julie Dorsey, Elizabeth Bergman and Debbie Rifkin shared their proposal, “Advancing Mid-Career Women’s Leadership at Ithaca College,” which seeks to provide a culture of mentorship, leadership and inclusion for mid-career women faculty.
IC President Shirley M. Collado announced the creation of the President’s Seed Grant Initiative in late November; the one-time seed grants are supported by the President’s Discretionary Fund. Collado has said she created the initiative as a way to lay the foundation for the strategic planning process, which will take place during the 2018-2019 academic year.
“It was such a joy to see the inspiring ideas and collaborative innovation that all of the seed grant applications embodied, and I am thrilled by the way in which our community came together to deeply engage in visionary thinking around the future of Ithaca College,” Collado said. “I offer my warmest congratulations to the selected teams and my deepest appreciation to all of our applicants.”