Emory Report
February 2, 2009
Volume 61, Number 18

2009 Spring Awardees

Engaged Research

John Blevins, Candler School of Theology;
Johnetta Holcombe and Laura Donnelly, Southeast AIDS Training and Education Center (Making It Real: Addressing Sexual Health Education and Disease Prevention in Minority Communities at the Intersection of Faith and
Real Life)

Paula Frew, Division of Infectious Diseases and The Hope Clinic (Building Hope: “Why Change Matters”)

Linda Grabbe, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Youth Education in Spiritual Self-Schema (YESS) Project)

Craig Hadley and Whitney Easton, Department of Anthropology (Cultural and Dietary Translation Among Refugee Students)

Karen Worthington, Emory Law Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic (JUSTGeorgia)

Engaged Teaching

Monica Donohue, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Gateway Project)

David Frisvold, Department of Economics (Economics of Poverty)

Magnia George, Department of Educational Studies
 (Culture and Community in Science Education)

Nicola Graves, Goizueta Business School (Advanced Business Communications)

Robert Lee, Yolanda Hood, Samuel Funt and Zwade Marshal, School of Medicine
(Pipeline Program)

John Weaver, Candler School of Theology and Pitts Theological Library (Digital Media Theory and the Practices of Sharing Community)

Ellen Spears, Department of Environmental Studies
(Service Learning in Environmental Studies)

 

    

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February 2, 2009
Grants for community benefit at a high

By Sam Marie Engle

The Office of University-Community Partnerships has awarded more than $36,000 to Emory faculty, to incorporate community-benefiting academic projects into their courses or focus their research expertise on addressing local community issues. A total of $22,165 was awarded for research projects; another $14,500 went to support course-based community-benefiting activities.

“This the largest number of mini grants, and the largest total sum of money we’ve ever awarded,” says Michael J. Rich, director of the OUCP and associate professor of political science. “It’s really exciting to see so many faculty from so many different departments and schools connecting their scholarship and their teaching to real world problem-solving.”

For Nicola Graves, assistant professor in the practice of management communications, the mini grants program offered the opportunity to teach in a new way. “Adding a service-learning component to Advanced Business Communication allows students to develop not only communication skills, but also personal responsibility,” Graves says. “In a professional sense, students will be responsible for working with their ‘client’ partnership organization. More importantly, this course will help students recognize that the real and lasting value of their education lies not solely in helping themselves, but in connecting with community members who exist outside of the context on an elite university.”

The Community Engaged Teaching and Research Mini Grants Program has been a source of financial support for faculty since OUCP’s inception in 2000. It is a key component of the Preparing Engaged Scholars theme of Emory’s strategic plan, which OUCP is charged to lead in partnership with Campus Life.

Mini grants provide funding for things like transportation between the community site and campus, project supplies and materials, printing and stipends for student assistants.

Mini grants also help cover the costs of refreshments, essential for projects like the Pipeline Program, which brings local high school students to campus for hands-on learning about the health sciences and mentoring by medical students and pre-med undergraduates.

The OUCP issues a call for proposals twice a year. The call for proposals for summer and fall 2009 projects will be made in March. Interested faculty can check the OUCP Web site at www.oucp.emory.edu for more information.