Inside Iowa State

October 12, 2004

14 P&S projects receive funding

by Anne Krapfl

The Professional and Scientific Council's retention and recruitment committee has awarded more than $30,000 in grants to P&S employee teams for student retention or recruitment projects this academic year. Fourteen of the 16 proposals submitted received at least partial funding. The largest grant is $4,000, the smallest $675.

In response to current strategic priorities, priority points were awarded to proposals that address recruitment and retention of under-represented American minority or community college transfer students.

This is 11th year of the grant program. It is funded by the President's Office.

A summary of the projects and grant awards follows:

1. Early Outreach Program, 12th grade "reunion" and college planning workshop for 35 students (entering college in fall 2006) who have participated as 9th, 10th or 11th graders in ISU's Early Outreach Program, $4,000
2. FIRST LEGO League (FLL) mentors, provides hourly pay to ISU students and provides them with training on operating the FLL program and mentoring and assisting young students in the state's FLL, a team hands-on, problem-solving program, $3,500
3. Forestry Explore Program, a series of interactive activities for students in the forestry program from under-represented populations and from community colleges and Des Moines area high schools, $3,000
4. Journey to Success, designed to increase the GPA and retention of ISU students receiving financial aid whose GPA is below 2.0, $2,980
5. Construction engineering program, develop two or three electronic video clips for the department's Web site to recruit students, with a focus on minority and women students, $2,750.
6. Engineering "video journal," develop video clips (about 30 seconds each) of current engineering students and young alumni, to be used in recruitment presentations and on the college's Web site, $2,750.
7. "Shadow day," Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, connects Latino/a high school students with ISU engineering students as role models on how to access higher education and prepare for careers in engineering, $2,500
8. Career awareness program, Women in Science and Engineering, WiSE and the residence department will provide a series of opportunities for first-year women students to explore careers and connect with faculty and industry professionals, $2,000.
9. "Beyond the BS: Graduate fellowships," this project will coach students through the application process for the prestigious GEM and NSF national fellowships, helping to increase the number of fellows studying at ISU, $1,500.
10. ISU Extension (Pocahontas County), provide meat quality and food safety information to high school agriculture teachers and students, and evaluate effectiveness of content and awareness of ISU as resource and post-secondary educational opportunity, $1,500
11. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, multicultural students will be recognized for their previous semester's academic success, $1,500
12. ISU Intensive English and Orientation program, grant will allow for expansion of a program that teaches cross-cultural adjustment skills to international students, $1,000
13. Road Less Traveled project (Des Moines County), 50 girls, grades 6-9, will come to campus to participate in the Spring 2005 "Taking the Road Less Traveled" conference, $1,000
14. Ag Career Day, the event attracts high school sophomores and juniors to the Armstrong Research Farm, Lewis, to explore ag careers, students participate in four hands-on workshops (from a selection of 15 options), $675

More than $30,000 in grants was awarded to P&S employee teams for student retention or recruitment projects.