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 will launch summer of 2021, will be on academics, financial literacy, mental wellness, and inclusive leadership. FSU is 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."
$1 Million Grant to Fund STEM Academic Success Year Three
FSU continues its five-year, $1 million grant project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to increase the academic success and persistence of first-generation and underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The grant funds FSU’s Transparent Pathways in STEM project, which aims to redesign academic pathways and curricula in a way that removes obstacles to student success and levels the playing field for all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.
The project involves approximately 60 STEM faculty from FSU and MassBay Community College (FSU’s largest feeder school) in an evidence-based intensive faculty development model that will lead to improvements in the individual and collective faculty practice, creating a lasting culture of inclusive excellence in the STEM curriculum and faculty ranks. Most importantly, it will foster and create the faculty leadership that is critical for effecting a sizeable impact to institutional culture.
Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) grant of $62,250
The Department of Higher Education granted HEIF funds for FSU to create a Racial Equity Policy Review Institute. The Institute’s goal is for campus leaders to create an actionable plan to undertake policy review in their respective areas for the new academic year. Participants will better understand systemic racism in education and how it manifests on campus, be able to define what a racist policy is and how it shows up in student outcomes, and learn how to best identify policies that intentionally and unintentionally favor white students.
Sudbury Foundation Racial Equity Award
Recognizing FSU’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist institution, the Sudbury Foundation provided a racial equity award in a special grant round this year. The money will be used for trainings on racism and racial trauma this academic year.
Schwartz Charitable Foundation
A $3,500 grant was given for the Student Support Fund, to provide timely and impactful assistance to students facing financial crisis.
Civic Hub Grant
Civic engagement programming during 2020-21 
The Henry Whittemore Library was recently awarded a federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for $7,500 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). “We are proud to deliver grant funding to libraries for projects that fill unique needs of libraries across Massachusetts.” said Rob Favini, Head of Library Advisory and Development at the MBLC. Through campus events and online content, FSU will build awareness of civic issues such as the Presidential election, climate change, and racism. The grant will fund numerous activities, including a photojournalism exhibition, podcasts, lectures on democracy and voting, racial healing circles and a book discussion.
Adventures in Lifelong Learning (ALL) & Perspective 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.
Gifts to Fund Office of Diversity and Inclusion, College Planning Collaborative
FSU is grateful for the continued generosity of The Herb and Maxine Jacobs Foundation. The Foundation is funding several projects this year including campus Pathway internships and fellowships in computer science and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, as well as support for the College Planning Collaborative and the 100 Males to College program.
Davis Educational Foundation Awards FSU $24,320
Presidential Grant for Alternate Academic Delivery.
This award is to enhance the quality of undergraduate online and hybrid academic program delivery through expanding the Quality Matters (QM) framework for designing online and blended (hybrid) courses. The Education Technology Office will work with faculty members to train in the QM framework and certify new peer reviewers for course curricula. This award is Framingham State’s third grant from the Davis Educational Foundation.
21st Century Bridge Grant for Early College Program with MassBay Community College
A $20,000 grant from the MA Dept. of Higher Education to the MetroWest College Planning Collaborative enables FSU faculty members to teach college courses to junior and senior students at their respective high schools. Partner schools – Framingham, Milford, and Boston International High Schools - offer two cohort dual enrollment courses per academic year for economically disadvantaged and minoritized students.
Adventures in Lifelong Learning receives second BayPath Elder Services grant
Framingham State University (FSU) has received a $14,000 grant from BayPath Elder Services to hire an outreach coordinator 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.
“Social isolation is a pressing concern for older adults and can lead to physical illness, depression and cognitive decline,” says Dr. Yaser Najjar, Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education at FSU. “This issue has only grown worse during the current pandemic. We are grateful to BayPath Elder Services for this generous grant, which will allow us to expand this popular program to even more seniors.”
STEM Summer Bridge program for Community College Students Transitioning to FSU
The MA Department of Higher Education continued funding ($33,119) for the STEM Summer Transfer Accelerator Program, a two-week, summer, residential program that provides incoming transfer students with research experience and campus familiarity to be successful upper level science majors. Dr. Larry McKenna of the Department of Physics and Earth Science and Dr. Aline Davis of the Department of Biology direct the program, in conjunction with Massachusetts Bay Community College, to increase retention and graduation rates of minoritized STEM students.
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. This 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.