Lebanon Valley College Awards Second Annual President's Innovation Fund Grants

ANNVILLE, PA (03/31/2014)(readMedia)-- Lebanon Valley College announced the second round of annual grants awarded by the College's President's Innovation Fund. A total of 14 grants were awarded to 30 faculty members and administrators from 13 academic departments and six administrative offices of the College. These 14 awardees follow the 13 grants awarded in spring 2013, the inaugural year of the President's Innovation Fund.

The grants, which are effective immediately, will fund projects ranging from the enhancement of two long-term LVC trademark programs-student-faculty summer research and annual Colloquium Series-to interdisciplinary and collaborative research between professors, undergraduate students, and members of the Lebanon Latino community.

"The success achieved by recipients of the inaugural President's Innovation Fund grants reinforces our desire to support extensive faculty innovation and creativity," Dr. Lewis E. Thayne, LVC president, said. "This next grant phase continues this inclusive collaboration between faculty and students, and between faculty in disparate academic fields, opening up new opportunities for our students to excel."

The fund's guidelines set three purposes for each proposal: support innovation in the development of new courses and program ideas; encourage collaboration among existing courses and programs; and, support efforts by departments or programs to achieve standards of excellence in assessing student learning outcomes. The guidelines were also established to insure that there was a co-curricular approach to student learning and program development.

Annual grants are open to all members of the campus community. To read more about the 14 grants awarded in 2014, please visit www.lvc.edu/presidents-innovation-fund. In summary, the second annual grants were awarded as follows:

"Colloquium Series Mini-Grants," Dr. Robert T. Valgenti, associate professor of philosophy

These mini-grants aim to widen exposure to the Colloquium Series by reaching directly into the classroom, where speakers will deliver presentations on the Colloquium Series theme within the structure of existing course offerings and curricula.

"DNA Barcoding to Enhance ID of Benthic Macroinvertebrates," Dr. Robert Carey, assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Rebecca A. Urban, assistant professor of biology

Students in Dr. Urban's ecology lab will collect and sample stream invertebrates in local creeks, then share the samples with Dr. Carey's genetics lab where they will isolate and further process DNA from the stream macroinvertebrates. The two classes will later meet jointly to present their work to the combined group.

"Faculty Fellowship for International Student Engagement," Megan F. Potteiger, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning/Educational Technology

The Faculty Fellowship for International Student Engagement will develop a faculty fellowship program for two-to-four faculty members to develop and teach courses that are particularly designed to meet the needs of first-year international students. The project aims to provide support that will increase the likelihood of academic success for international students, to support the retention of international students, and to provide support for faculty so that they can manage the academic needs of international students in the classroom and through academic advising.

"Improved Summer Research Experience," Dr. Walter A. Patton, associate professor of chemistry; director of biochemistry & molecular biology

This grant will enhance the already successful "Coffee Hour" that is conducted each Tuesday during summer research. Previous sessions have included biologists, chemists, psychologists, and physicists from several colleges. In this setting, students and faculty engage in learning as a true community of scientists and review issues that are universally important. "Coffee Hour" will cover lab and chemical safety, oral presentations on a summer research project, scientific writing exercises, documentation of work, case studies on ethical conduct, and more.

"Incorporate Enterprise Software Experience," Dr. Lewis C. Chasalow, associate professor of business administration

This project will grant LVC membership in the SAP University Alliance, the largest vendor of enterprise software in the world. By entering into full membership in the alliance, LVC gains access to a live instance of SAP software, which will allow students hands-on access to perform the business functions they are likely to encounter in their careers since SAP is used by more than 70 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.

"Interfaith Literacy Leadership," Rev. Dr. Paul Fullmer, chaplain and director of service and volunteerism; Beth E. Romanski, director of continuing education & professional development; and Dr. Matthew Sayers, assistant professor of religion

This project supports a pilot program of the Institute for Interfaith Literacy and Leadership dedicated to the promotion of religious literacy, interfaith leadership, healthy interfaith dialogue, and the advancement of sustainable models of pluralism through education, engagement, and service. In this pilot program, the goal is more modest: the development of a certificate program aimed at educating members of the community on religious literacy and interfaith dialogue.

"Intergroup Dialogue Course: Race," Venus Ricks, director of multicultural affairs, and Dr. Catherine Romagnolo, associate professor of English

Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) is a practice used to engage students across cultural and social divides, promotes learning about social diversity and inequalities, and encourage an attitude of social responsibility. Building on the success of the pilot Intergroup Dialogue course on race, Romagnolo and Ricks will co-instruct a slightly modified version of the course offered in 2012-2013. Class meetings will consist of discussions about historical, theoretical, and literary readings, reflective writings, and a collaborative action project.

"Karl Popper and the Constitution of an Open Society," Dr. Philip Benesch, associate professor of political science

Dr. Benesch will create a co-curricular experience that brings scholars and interested generalists to LVC's campus to participate alongside students and faculty in an intense, three-day symposium on Karl Popper and the Constitution of an Open Society. The symposium will feature several panels and lectures from Sept. 16 to 18, 2014. The symposium will expose students to high-level scholarship and academic debate, embed LVC's 2014 Constitution Day event within a broader intellectual context, and feature lectures delivered by a prominent historian, philosopher, and legal theorist.

"Latinization of Lebanon," Dr. Ivette Guzman-Zavala, associate professor of Spanish; Dr. John Hinshaw, professor of history; Mathew Samuel, assistant professor of digital communications; and Nancy Williams, adjunct instructor in art education

This project creates interdisciplinary and collaborative research among professors, undergraduate students, and members of the Lebanon Latino community. Students in Dr. Guzman-Zavala's Spanish for Heritage Speakers class will conduct interviews with Latinas in Lebanon and its surrounding areas, and Dr. Hinshaw's upper-level history students will complete data collection and analysis. The information gathered will create an archive that will be used in art and digital communications classes led by Williams and Samuel.

"Learning Latin via Video Gaming," Dr. Noel Hubler, professor of philosophy; Dr. Jeffrey J. Ritchie, chair and associate professor of digital communications; Mathew Samuel, assistant professor of digital communications; and Dr. Kenneth Yarnall, chair and associate professor of mathematical sciences

This faculty group will develop an online video game to supplement Latin 101 and 102 to create a stimulating and engaging environment for students to problem solve and employ their knowledge of Latin. The game will ask students to follow directions in Latin, understand basic conversations, and respond appropriately to conversational prompts.

"Pre-first Year Study Abroad in Quebec," Dr. Rick Chamberlin, associate professor of German and French; Dr. Kathleen Tacelosky, chair of languages and associate professor of Spanish; and Jill T. Russell, director of study abroad

Tacelosky participated in the 2013 Quebec program through a PIF grant and laid the groundwork for a pre-first year study abroad experience for incoming LVC students with at least one year of French study. Chamberlin will accompany the first-ever group of incoming LVC students to undertake the adventure after hosting a two-day, pre-departure orientation on campus in August.

"Re-imagining the Computer Science Curriculum," Dr. Michael D. Fry, professor of mathematical sciences and director of the computer science track for engineering, and Dr. Kenneth Yarnall, chair and associate professor of mathematical sciences

In response to a massive shift in the computing industry toward distributed computing-systems that allow computers connected by a network to collaborate as they process data-two new job categories have emerged: back-end work and front-end work. LVC's curriculum currently focuses on front-end programming and this grant will enable the curriculum to be restructured to focus on back-end server work, one of the first programs in the country to do so.

"Service Learning Trip to Puerto Rico," Rev. Dr. Paul Fullmer, chaplain and director of service and volunteerism; Dr. Ivette Guzman-Zavala, associate professor of Spanish; Dr. Kathleen Tacelosky, chair of languages and associate professor of Spanish; and Jill T. Russell, director of study abroad

Grant monies will subsidize a week-long service trip in May 2015 for 12 LVC students and two staff members to Puerto Rico to work with various service organizations and to serve the local community. Service projects will include improving facilities at a school for children with hearing impairment, assisting staff at El Yunque Rainforest National Park, and tutoring young children in school work and language skills.

"Utility of E-Portfolios," Dr. Walter A. Patton, associate professor of chemistry and director of biochemistry & molecular biology

Due to the flexibility and customization of the biochemistry & molecular biology program, upper-level students may have never been in the same section of a single course at the same time prior to their senior year, creating a cohort of graduates who have each had an individualized experience. This is a strength of the program, but also creates an interesting problem in the lack of a unified concept base for all students at the same time. Dr. Patton will use an e-Portfolio system in place of traditional paper assignments throughout the 2014–2015 academic year in three BCMB courses to determine if e-Portfolio use helps engage students and integrate ideas and concepts by students presenting information in ways they create and understand.