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 the 2020-21 academic year.
Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation $10,000 Award
With all the upheaval of the past year, Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation recognized the need for more planning to pivot to new conditions. The MetroWest STEM Education Network (MSEN), hosted and administered by the Christa McAuliffe Center, will utilize the grant funds to conduct a strategic plan during 2021 for the 44 MSEN members.
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) & 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.
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.
STEM Summer Bridge program for Community College Students Transitioning to FSU
The MA Department of Higher Education continued funding 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. 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 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.”