Cummings Foundation $100,000 Award
Framingham State University (FSU) has received a $100,000 grant spread over four years from the Cummings Foundation to create a Summer Bridge Program for underrepresented and first-generation students from low-income households.
The focus of the Bridge Program, which launched summer 2021 and will continue through 2024, will be on academics, financial literacy, mental wellness, and inclusive leadership. FSU was one of the 130 local nonprofits to receive grants through Cummings Foundation's $20 Million Grant Program and was chosen from a total of 738 applicants after a competitive review process.
"During this time of extreme economic stress and anxiety, we are so grateful to receive this award from Cummings Foundation," says Framingham State University President F. Javier Cevallos. "These critical funds will be used to provide direct assistance to our most vulnerable students as they make the difficult transition from high school to college. A college education remains the most tried and true way to move up the socioeconomic ladder. This program is going to help us ensure that more students are successful when they reach FSU."
U.S. Department of Education (FIPSE) Awards FSU Open Educational Textbook Pilot Program Grant
A consortium of six colleges led by Framingham State University, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, has received a $441,367 federal grant aimed at increasing the number of college courses utilizing free Open Educational Resources (OER) rather than costly textbooks. The project - Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL): Culturally Relevant Open Textbooks for High Enrollment General Education Courses and Career and Professional Courses at Six Public Massachusetts Colleges - will test the hypothesis that underrepresented students will achieve higher academic outcomes if free, culturally-relevant course materials that reflect their experience are utilized.
Colleges taking part in the effort, in addition to Framingham State, include: Fitchburg State University, Holyoke Community College, Northern Essex Community College, Salem State University, and Springfield Technical Community College. The project will provide monetary incentives for faculty to create new OER textbooks and adaptions of existing open textbooks using an equity and inclusion lens, which will result in significant student savings per year. For more information about the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), go to: www.ed.gov/FIPSE.
Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) grant of $67,974
The Department of Higher Education granted HEIF funds this fall for FSU to build the capacity of our staff and faculty to recognize our students’ strengths and cultural wealth, with the ultimate goal of addressing racial equity gaps in student retention. The grant will pay for trainings and workshops focused on increasing cultural humility and promoting an ethic of care, with a focus on staff who serve in student-facing roles. Project outcomes include: increased staff capacity for understanding and communicating across cultural differences; recognition by individuals regarding their contributions to institutional retention efforts; and better integration of the lessons gleaned from antiracism and racial equity trainings into student interactions.
Two Awards from the Sudbury Foundation
Framingham State received two grants from The Sudbury Foundation last fall, including its second Racial Equity & Inclusion Award. The Center for Inclusive Excellence’s Director, will use its $3,000 grant to hold a student art contest that responds to prompts about racial equity and inclusion, and purchase seven to ten submitted art works to hang in the CIE. Dr. Irene Porro, Director of the Christa McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science, received $18,360 to help run the PETM program (described under the Dorr Foundation).
Dorr Foundation Grant funds Teen Mentoring Program
The Dorr Foundation in New Hampshire has recently awarded $31,771 to the McAuliffe Center’s innovative Perspectives on Earth Teen Mentoring Program (PETM). PETM promotes youth engagement in STEM disciplines by leveraging the youth’s concerns and passion for environmental issues in their communities of Framingham, Marlborough and Milford.
NEA Big Read Award to Whittemore Library
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. FSU is one of 70+ nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host an NEA Big Read project.
The Henry Whittemore Library will use the $19,970 grant to host a variety of activities related to the chosen book and indigenous people this fall. With community partners Framingham Public Library and MassBay Community College, the Library will distribute An American Sunrise, by America’s first Native American Poet Laureate for a community read. Other planned activities include presentations on Native American history, book discussions, an art exhibit, poetry lectures, a student poetry reading and a virtual author talk by Joy Harjo.
Adventures in Lifelong Learning (ALL) & Perspectives on Earth – Team Mentoring Programs (PETM) funded by LCC’s
Spring 2021 brought roughly $12,000 worth of grants to two FSU programs – one geared for elders and the other for teenagers – from six different Local Cultural Councils. The Adventures in Lifelong Learning Program, run in conjunction with Framingham Public Library, received $6,220 total from Ashland, Framingham, Marlborough, Natick, and Sudbury Cultural Councils, while the McAuliffe Center’s PETM program received $5,862 from the Framingham, Marlborough, and Milford Cultural Councils. PETM’s goal is to promote appreciation for the connection between local and global environmental challenges and to share youth’s potential solutions to address them. High School students will create awareness campaigns on a local environmental challenge, while being supported by mentors in STEM fields. ALL is an academic program designed to provide intellectual, creative, and social engagement for adults age 60 and over.
New Digital Humanities Center Will Be Created By Federal Grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded Framingham State University $192,306 to launch a digital humanities center in the Whittemore Library that will serve students, faculty, and the greater community. Digital Humanities combines traditional humanities subjects, such as English, history, and philosophy, with digital computing tools that expand upon our ability to ask and to answer age-old humanities questions about identity, history, and more, according to FSU English Professor Dr. Bartholomew Brinkman. The NEH grant is part of the American Recovery Program and a portion of the funding is reserved for non-tenure track faculty members who have seen fewer teaching opportunities during COVID19.
Omohundro Institute Contract for the Nation’s 250th Anniversary of Independence
History Professor Dr. Joseph M. Adelman’s expertise in revolutionary America has resulted in a $100,000 contract with the Omohundro Institute to run its Across America 1776 project. Dr. Adelman will serve as the project’s coordinator, assisting with planning and programming related to the 2026 semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of American independence over the next five years.
MA Department of Higher Education Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership
FSU’s College Planning Collaborative has received $40,000 from MA DHE to continue MetroWest Scholars Early Start (MWSES), its Early College Program. MWSES enables FSU faculty to teach college courses to high school students at their schools. All courses are in person or remote (video conferenced). Each partner school offers two cohort dual enrollment courses per academic year. With the continuing evolution of MWSES and now the return to in person classes, we have expanded courses during the school day. Three of the six courses will be offered during the school day and three after school hours.
MA Service Alliance Grants roughly $75,000 for Diversifying Teacher Pipeline
In collaboration with the Framingham Public School District, FSU received a planning grant to develop an AmeriCorps program that will explore how to create a pipeline supporting bilingual candidates and students of color to achieve teacher licensure in high-needs areas. Starting in August, the grant will aid in the development of teacher pathways and financial models that will make teacher licensure an affordable and attainable goal for diverse candidates by replicating a successful teacher residency model.
$100,000 Research Grant from the USDA to Study Witch Hazel
Dr. Emmanouil Apostolidis in the Chemistry and Food Science Department received a new U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to continue his studies on the properties of witch hazel. The additional funding will support a research technician for the academic year.
MetroWest Health Foundation Health & Wellness Grants
$22,341 received for two different programs.
This spring and summer brought two awards, one for a new Vaping Cessation Program for the Health Center, and one for the Counseling Center to purchase equipment and furniture to better serve students safely during the pandemic. During the 2021-22 academic year, students who are motivated to quit or cut back on vaping will receive a multi-faceted program to help them, based on successful tobacco cessation models.
Adventures in Lifelong Learning receives third BayPath Elder Services Grant
Framingham State University (FSU) has received a $13,599 grant from BayPath Elder Services to fund an outreach coordinator and two bilingual assistants to expand the free Adventures in Lifelong Learning Program to isolated seniors, as well as those from underrepresented communities. The goal of the program is to decrease social isolation among seniors while keeping them active and healthy, nurturing their intellect and creativity, and promoting their well-being.
IMLS Grant to Inspire Local Teens in Environmental Activism
Project-based learning to confront growing crisis
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently awarded the McAuliffe Center a $49,964 grant to run a project-based program that aims to foster awareness and understanding of global and local environmental issues among high-school age youth and their communities. Called Perspective of Earth Team Mentorship, the program involves teenagers from Framingham, Milford, and Marlborough High Schools to integrate environmental and climate education with civic engagement during out-of-school time.
Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Fellowship Award
Stephanie Grey in the Arts and Music department received a grant from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation to travel to and experience Australia. During her travels, Professor Grey intends to explore the culture and landscape of Australia and share insights with the Framingham State University Community, upon her return, in a set of new lectures and workshops.
Avidia Bank Charitable Foundation Grants
The McAuliffe Center received two grants from the Avidia Bank Charitable Foundation for their Science on State Street event and See Yourself in STEM Team Mentorship program. The Science on State Street STEM event provides high quality, interactive exhibits to engage the community in STEM. The Team Mentorship program offers a series of workshops about diversity, equity, and inclusion specifically applied to STEM education and professional environments for high school students from Framingham, Marlborough and Milford.
Department of Early Education and Care Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative Implementation Grant
Framingham State University’s Centers for Early Childhood Education (CECE) has been awarded $260,000 from the Department of Early Education and Care for the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative Implementation Grant. The CECE is partnering with Framingham Public Schools to provide pre-kindergarten to children who reside in Framingham and will be enrolling in kindergarten in September 2022 without experience in an early childhood education program. This grant will support expanded preschool access in meeting family needs, with particular attention to the needs of working families.