A fourth round of minigrants will be announced by the Office of College and Community Partnerships early in 2010. All tenured and tenured-track Buffalo State faculty members are eligible to apply. The awards are anticipated to be in the range of $1500- $2000; however, larger proposals (up to $5000) will be considered if strongly justified. The goal of the initiative is to strengthen current and establish new partnerships that highlight and enhance the College's targeted areas of expertise. In addition, the minigrant awards provide faculty with the opportunity for scholarly research and/or publication in conjunction with service to the community. A total of awards have been made since 2007.
The minigrant partnership initiative is designed to be aligned with the strategic plan of Buffalo State College. Strategic Direction 3:
- Contribute to the improvement of the vitality of the community, region and state.
- Identification of the regions's priorities and how they match the strategic plan is a starting point for this minigrant application.
The Office of College and Community Partnerships defines a partnership as a relationship involving close cooperation between groups having specified and joint rights and responsibilities over a specific period of time, ideally with a memo of understanding or letter of commitment, and a termination point, with the appreciation that there shall be a sharing of benefits between them.
Examples of existing partnerships can be found on the College and Community Partnership website: www.buffalostate.edu/partnerships. Click on Departments in Partnerships. Additional partnerships are listed under Centers and Partnerships.
The Office of College and Community Partnerships awarded ten mini-grants to Buffalo State faculty members and their community partners. The 2009 awards gave special consideration to partnerships on Buffalo’s West Side. The awards totaled $17,200 and ranged from $1000 to $2500. Awardees and partners are:
William Wieczorek, Ph.D., Center for Health and Social Research - West Side Community Services - $2000
Robin Harris, Ph.D., Earth Sciences and Science Ed - Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper - $2000
Kelly Frothingham, Ph.D., Geography and Planning - Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper - $2000
David Wilson, Ph.D., Mathematics - Making Fishers of Men and Women - $2500
Chenchen Huang, Ph.D., Hospitality and Tourism, and KeunYoung Oh, Ph.D., Technology - Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau - $1500
Gary Welborn, Ph.D., Sociology-History Museum, Hope Refugee, Journey’s End, International Institute - $2000
Chaitali Ghosh, Ph.D., Mathematics - Family Justice Center - $1000
Patricia Medina, Ed.D., Educational Foundations/Adult Education - West Side Community Services - $1300
Christine Scott, Ph.D., Speech-Language Pathology - Buffalo Public Schools - $1400
Candace Keegan, M.F.A., Art Education - Asarese Matters Community Center - $1500
