Awards
Penn State Intercom......November 27, 2002

Africana Research Center
announces grant awards

The Africana Research Center has announced its fall semester grant recipients.

The center encourages and supports research and scholarship that enhances the lives of African-Americans, Africans and Afro-Caribbean peoples, and serves as a catalyst for promoting an enabling environment where cultural production and discourse on diversity.

The grant recipients are:

* Michael Adewumi, Tanya Furman, Greg Jenkins, Andy Nyblade and K.Osseo-Asare, EMS Task Force on African Earth Sciences and Engineering Center, "The Energy and Envrionmental Imperatives of African Development";

* Patricia Koch, Phyllis Mansfield and Linda Burton, Department of Biobehavioral Health, "Menstrual Patterns and Related Health Concerns of African-American Women of Lower Socioeconomic Status: A Pilot Study";

* Laurence Prescott, Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, "Bio-bibliography of Afro-Colombian Writers: Works and Criticism";

* Elaine Richardson, Department of English, "African- Americans Mentoring for Cultural Literacy";

* Harold Schobert, The Energy Institute, "Medical Geology of African Coals";

* Linda Selzner and Elaine Richardson, "Department of English 2003 African American Read-In Project (University Park)";

* Megan Simpson and Ossie Parker, "Penn State Altoona 14th Annual African-American Read-In Chain";

* Blake Te'Neil Lloyd, Penn State Delaware County, "Enhancing College Student Retention: An Intervention for At-Risk African-American Students";

* Robert Weech-Maldonado, Health Policy and Administration, "Health Plan Characteristics and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Patient Assessments of Managed Care"; and

* Lakshman Yapa, Department of Geography, "Creating GIS (Geographical Information System) Database for Metropolitan Philadelphia to Support Socio-Economic Research to be Undertaken by the Program for the Philadelphia Semester of Public Scholarship."

Proposals for the spring award period should be submitted by 5 p.m. Feb. 15. For submission guidelines, go to http://africanacenter.la.psu.edu/Research.htm.

Kellogg LINC mini-grant awardees announced

The Leadership for Institutional Change (LINC) initiative, a partnership of Penn State and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania that is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, has awarded five teams with mini-grants for projects that address campus and community concerns.

The awards range from $1,550 to $7,500 and the total amount awarded for this latest round of grants is $21,750. This is the third time funding has been awarded at the University since the Kellogg LINC mini-grant project began in August 2001; to date, $119,945 has been awarded to groups that provide a driving force for leadership and change.

The following teams were awarded funding for the period of Nov. 1 through June 30:

* Leadership Development Institute (LDI) — The institute is the result of a community-based partnership involving Penn State Harrisburg, the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District Authority and the Urban League of Metropolitan Harrisburg. Its goal is to fully develop and engage 15 selected African-American adults between the ages of 25 and 40 who have begun to demonstrate their potential and commitment to the Harrisburg community. The nine-month training will center on the development of leadership skills and will examine the challenges and opportunities the participants face in securing economic self-reliance, parity and power, and civil rights.

* CARE Coalition: Nurses as Community Leaders — The Penn State Mont Alto Coalition for the Advancement, Recruitment and Education of Nurses (CARE) is a local organization composed of nursing professionals, faculty, students and administrators, human resource directors and Pennsylvania legislators. These individuals have joined together to respond to the nursing shortage in south central Pennsylvania, in particular in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and Fulton counties. Activities of the CARE coalition are focused on the recruitment, retention and education of nurses in the area. Speakers sponsored by the coalition address topics such as leadership in nursing and health care, mentoring programs and internships, improving the nursing work environment and best practices in nurse management.

* Penn State York Early Awareness Program — This project aims to improve the retention and graduation rates of 50 minority high school students from York. These students will participate in an intensive and interactive, 15-hour summer program in one of three major strands: leadership development, career awareness and corporate mentoring. At the end of the weeklong program, eight of the students will be selected to receive a $300 stipend if they participate in 40 hours of follow-up administrative, collaborative and leadership activities.

* The American Indian Housing Initiative: Developing a Partnership with Chief Dull Knife College — In summer of 2002, faculty from the College of Arts and Architecture and students from the Schreyer Honors College partnered with faculty and students from the University of Washington to construct a strawbale literacy center on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, marking the sixth project of the American Indian Housing Initiative (AIHI). This year, four faculty members at Penn State have collaborated to expand and solidify this outreach program, providing the resources to form alliances with the Northern Cheyenne community, including the reservation's institute of higher learning, Chief Dull Knife College. Building on the success of these outreach efforts, AIHI will further its goal of stewarding tribal self-sufficiency by extending the collaboration to include Chief Dull Knife College as a formal partner in the Initiative. It will provide technical assistance in community planning and sustainable design through consortiums and seminars held on the tribal campus.

* Intergenerational Outreach Program — This initiative is a partnership between Cooperative Extension and the University's two early childhood education programs in the Department of Human Develoment and Family Studies -- the Bennett Family Center and the Child Development Lab. Other partners in the initiative include the Community Academy for Lifelong Learning and the Gerontology Center in the College of Health and Human Development. This year's grant will allow the program to develop a set of instructional materials to train early childhood professionals in effective practices for planning and implementing inter-generational programs in early childhood settings. The project team will work closely with the information and communication technologies staff in the College of Agricultural Sciences to develop a guidebook and companion videotape.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930. Its programs center around the common visions of a world in which each person has a sense of worth, accepts responsibility for self, family, community and societal well being; and has the capacity to be productive and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions and healthy communities.

For information on the Penn State Kellogg LINC project, visit http://www.psu.edu/president/cqi/LINC/awardees2002.htm.

Commission for Adult Learners
awards 2002-03 Incentive Grants

The Commission for Adult Learners recently selected 15 Incentive Grant Programs representing 10 University locations for funding. The Incentive Grant Program supports program and service initiatives for adult learners at all University locations. Grants of up to $300 were available, with the requirements that each campus provide matching funds. Ideally, the grant-funded projects become an integral part of a location's programming for its adult learners.

Those receiving Incentive Grants for 2002-03 are:

* Penn State Abington has been awarded funds to support two Continuing Education-sponsored programs: the Lunch and Learn Program in cooperation with area industry and Maximize Your Potential-Skills for College Success. Randy Ingbritsen, Joy Fraunfelter and Theresa Bloom are program directors.

* Penn State Beaver will conduct Soup Nights for adult students. Bob DeWitt and Amy Gartley are program directors.

* Penn State Berks will develop two new communication tools for its adult learners: an enhanced Web site via the Serving Adult Learners project and a print-based newsletter. Martha Aynardi and Shannon Reagan are program directors.

* Penn State DuBois was awarded funds to support two projects: Adult Learners Support Group and a family program, 'Twas the Night Before Finals. Carol Rembacki, Sean Kelly and Rebecca Pennington are the program directors.

* Penn State Fayette received two grants to support its adult learner initiatives: ASSIST ME: Adult Student Seminars in Information Systems Technology and Micro-computer Education and Career Development for Adult Learners. Mary Ann Walter, Chad Long and Rene Forbes are project directors.

* Penn State Harrisburg received funding for the fourth annual Career Forum. Charlotte Spector is project director.

* Penn State University Park received funds for two new initiatives. The College of Health and Human Development will sponsor the program Explore and Discover Your Future at Penn State in the College of Health and Human Development for Centre County prospective adult learners. The Center for Adult Learner Services will develop a New Student Bulletin for University Park campus adult learners. Joyce Hopson-King and Betsy Esposito will direct the projects.

* Penn State Wilkes-Barre received funds to support the project Enhancing the Campus Climate for the Adult Learner. Ina Lubin and Lynda Goldstein are project directors.

* Penn State World Campus plans to develop the World Campus Advising Newsletter in both electronic and print format. Kim Furst is project director.

* Penn State York received funds for a Noncredit Faculty Orientation Program. Bea Landis is program director.

Diane Disney, Jan Jacobs, John Romano, Jim Ryan and William Asbury sponsor the University's Commission for Adult Learners. This year's Incentive Grant projects will be showcased as part of the May 12, 2003 Best Practices Conference.

Back