Last modified: Thursday, June 6, 2013
IU Women’s Philanthropy Council awards more than $120,000 in grants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Women's Philanthropy Council will award grants totaling $124,730 to 12 schools or organizations affiliated with four IU campuses.
The awards range from $4,000 to $20,000 and will support projects that foster community outreach, career development, public health, student philanthropy, education and diversity at IU Bloomington, IUPUC, IUPUI and IU Southeast. There were 40 grant applicants from seven IU campuses.
Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, associate professor of clinical medicine and pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, and her students present their "Making Health Choices" grant proposal.
"We had extremely tough decisions to make in selecting only 12 award recipients among so many worthy applicants," said Julie Davis, the council's fund working group facilitator and director of business development for Worth New York. "Our goal was to support innovative initiatives that address obstacles we face, not only in Indiana but around the world related to education, health care and cultural enrichment."
The 2013 recipients are:
Virtual Access to the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Research Library, IU Bloomington
The award will fund the hiring of a program consultant to advise the IT and library staff on making the Ostrom Workshop Research Library's catalog accessible worldwide via the Internet. Currently the library's catalog is available only on computers in the library in Bloomington.
The late Elinor Ostrom received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for her groundbreaking research demonstrating that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions that allow for the sustainable and equitable management of shared resources.
Science Saturday Workshops, Student Chapter of the National Science Teachers Association, Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus.
The award will help fund the development of a comprehensive, five-year plan of projects that meet next-generation standards and needs (i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which can be implemented through Science Saturday Workshops and serve as a resource for classroom teachers accessible via the interactive website.
The workshops, hosted by IUPUC members of the student chapter of the National Science Teachers Association, provide hands-on, inquiry-based activities for school-age children to introduce science exploration activities without the pressures of traditional classroom environments.
The Books & Beyond Program, IU Global Village Living Learning Center, IU Bloomington
The award will be used to publish and deliver 2,500 copies of a book collaboratively written by Indiana University student authors to students at Kabwende Primary School in Rwanda. IU students will use the books to lead a three-week camp for Kabwende Primary School, teaching English skills to both the students and teachers.
Authors as Artists: Writing Craft Development, National Writing Project, IU Southeast
The goal of the project is to improve writing skills among current and student teachers and to inspire students to read and write through exposure to high-quality texts that capture culturally rich topics. Teachers will enjoy an evening of professional development with the author and a follow-up session with colleagues to develop demonstration lessons that can be presented in their schools.
The authors will visit the selected schools, read their texts to students and discuss writing from the author's point of view. Teachers will leave with follow-up lessons aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The award will fund the expenses of two author visits, professional development events and related books and supplies.
A Call to Action: Ava DuVernay and the African American Film Festival Releasing Movement, Black Film Center/Archive, IU Bloomington
The award will help fund A Call to Action, a seven-film series that will showcase the work of visiting filmmaker Ava DuVernay and other filmmakers represented through her pioneering theatrical distribution venture, the African American Film Festival Releasing Movement. Other campus and community events planned in conjunction with her visit include a Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture, two post-screening public discussions, a graduate student master class, an information exchange with members of local community advocacy programs and an extensive interview with Michael T. Martin, the Black Film Center/Archive director.
The Roundabout Opera for Kids' Opera Commissioning Project, Jacobs School of Music, IU Bloomington
Roundabout Opera for Kids, or ROK, led by Kimberly Carballo, is a service-learning project that presents free opera performances in schools, libraries and other youth venues with the help of a volunteer cast of music students from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The award will help fund the current project, creating a six-opera cycle of new and adapted operas for elementary school audiences, including high-quality sets, costumes, props and accompanying curriculum guides.
The project will culminate in a six-year rotation of full productions, ensuring that students experience a different ROK opera each year of elementary school while also making outreach efforts sustainable for years to come.
Making Healthy Choices, IU National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
The award will help expand a current program called WOW -- Women's Wellness on Wheels -- which consists of biometric screenings, health assessments and an educational/referral follow-up program. The program, utilizing WOW's 40 buses and staff members, will travel to campuses in Indianapolis, Muncie and Terre Haute to provide students free biometric, BMI, blood pressure and glucose screenings and a health assessment that includes nutrition, healthy lifestyle education and family planning.
Student Sight Savers, IU School of Medicine, IUPUI
The mission of Student Sight Savers is to preserve sight by identifying community members with vision deficits and/or signs of glaucoma; educating individuals about the complications of glaucoma and other eye-related diseases; and connecting these individuals with medical resources necessary to prevent complications from untreated glaucoma or diabetes. The award will fund the purchase of visual field screening equipment needed to screen patients for glaucoma.
Expansion of the Art Therapy Graduate Internship Program in Partnership with Joy's House, Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI
This fall, the art therapy program at the Herron School of Art will begin its second year and will enroll up to 10 new graduate students. These students, together with the current 10 students, will be placed within partnering organizations throughout the community as they complete their mandatory 1,000 hours of clinical internships and field practicums. The award will fund the expansion of Herron's existing partnership with Joy's House, a nonprofit that provides adult day services.
Student Ambassadors, Center for Constitutional Democracy, IU Bloomington
The Center for Constitutional Democracy will expand the Student Ambassadors program, which provides IU students the opportunity to engage in constitutional advising work and apply their academic research to real-world situations. In 2013, two students will go to Liberia and two students will go to Burma to participate in high-level meetings promoting constitutional democracy and gender equality. The award will fund student airfare and travel expenses.
Establishment of a Rural Resource Center on Domestic and Interpersonal Violence, School of Public Health-Bloomington
The award will provide seed money to identify and secure funding to establish a Rural Resource Center on Domestic and Interpersonal Violence. The center will become a resource to rural communities, schools, law enforcement and social service providers in Indiana.
The mission of the center will be to provide professionals with the tools to implement evidence-based strategies and programs that support the prevention and management of domestic and interpersonal violence problems in their respective communities.
Promoting Awareness and Opportunities for Women IT Students, The Center of Excellence for Women in IT, School of Informatics and Computing, IU Bloomington
The award will provide seed funds for the following three major initiatives of the newly established Center of Excellence for Women in IT: scholarships for women who will lead campus outreach activities promoting awareness of IT-related fields for women; funding for students to attend a national conference for women in computing; and a student competition to design a marketing campaign to attract women into IT fields.
About the Women's Philanthropy Council grant program
Grants will be awarded on an annual cycle from the WPC Fund, which is administered by the IU Foundation. WPC members support the fund with annual contributions. Applications for 2014 grants will be available in fall of 2013. More information about grant criteria and applications is available on the Women's Philanthropy Council website, or contact Holly Johnson, director of Women's Philanthropy at Indiana University, at holljohn@indiana.edu.
Convened by the Indiana University Foundation Board of Directors in 2010, the IU Women's Philanthropy Council mission is to lead fundraising and engagement efforts that inspire women to give of their time, talent and resources to Indiana University and to develop female leaders in philanthropy.
Founded in 1936, The Indiana University Foundation is dedicated to maximizing private-sector support for Indiana University by conducting fundraising campaigns and programs, investing the endowment and providing the infrastructure and services that support these efforts. The foundation partners with and serves all eight Indiana University campuses.
