National Center for Educational Alliances

Presidential Grants

Each year, the president has made small grants available to fund faculty and staff proposals that support faculty development and classroom instruction. In 2010, a new framework for the Presidential Grant Program was put in place to support activities, as part of the College’s Global Initiative that specifically promotes global learning at BCC.

The guidelines indicate that grants would be awarded for projects that:

Support the goals of the BCCGlobal Initiative which is designed to ensure that we make good on our promise to “graduate students who are prepared to live within, profit from and contribute to a 21st century global environment marked by diversity, change and expanded opportunities for learning and growth.”

Involve one or more of the following: (1) faculty research and scholarship; (2) curriculum design and development; (3) faculty development; and (4) international community service.

The grant activity must occur between January and December of the academic year of the grant award.

Application Instructions
Applications are usually available in October of each year, and the announcement is disseminated via the BCC Broadcast. Further instructions will be available from the Office of the President. Applicants are asked to prepare a two (2) page description outlining the proposed activity that includes a clear explanation that shows how the proposed project will support the College’s Global Initiative.

The following items must be included for the proposal to be considered:

PROJECT TITLE, YOUR NAME, DEPARTMENT, PHONE & E-MAIL on the COVER SHEET
(Proposals without this information will not be reviewed.)
WHAT is being proposed and WHY
WHO will participate and HOW participants will be selected or recruited
WHEN and WHERE will the activity take place
Projected COST with an itemized budget
HOW the project will benefit the participants
WHAT are the anticipated measureable RESULTS/OUTCOMES

Approved 2011 Presidential Grants

Incorporating Global Initiative Goals and General Education Proficiencies into PE A Courses in the Department of HPEW
Dr. Suzan Moss and Dr. Donna Genova (Health, Physical Education and Welfare)
This proposal supports the global General Education goals by faculty meeting with scholars from around the world at an international conference in Ireland to learn about best practices in engaging the public in healthy physical activities. The focus will be on identifying research, policies, and teaching strategies that help people to maintain positive life choices over time. Upon their return Dr. Moss and Dr. Genova will lead their department in amplifying Global Initiative goals and General Education proficiencies in all of the department’s physical education courses.

Open Textbook: The Common Property of Mankind
Dr. Susan Amper (English)
Open textbooks offer students an easily assessable and cost-effective portal to the academic world because these textbooks are shared freely under an open license that allows users to use, repurpose, and redistribute at no cost. These textbooks are available to download and print in various file forms from several websites and the Open Educational Resources repositories. This grant will provide time for Dr. Amper and other interested faculty? to investigate open textbooks to show how they benefit students, how instructors can use the free resources, and how educators can write and license open texts.

Continuation of the BCC Organic Garden
Dr. Claudio Mazzatenta (Biology and Medical Lab Technology)
Financial support was awarded to continue the activities surrounding the organic garden on campus as described in the 2010 award section.

Glossary on e-Herodotus Website
Dr. Robert Maryks (History)
In continuation of the development of the e-Herodotus website, released time will enable the creation of a glossary that will incorporate the terms necessary for students to write the identifications that all History 10 and 11 students must know for the uniform final essay. At the end of the Fall 2011 semester an assessment will be undertaken by surveying students in these courses to determine to determine whether they use this section of e-Herodotus.

Support for Student Activities in the Field of Nanotechnology
Dr. Nicolas Anuku (Chemistry and Chemical Technology)
The advent of nanotechnology offers a wide range of opportunities for the development of innovative applications in food production, processing, preservation, and packaging. The funds will support research that will introduce a select cohort of biology and chemistry students to this new emerging field that can ultimately have a positive impact on the 21st-century global environment.

Preparation of BCC Majors in Basics of Geospatial Technology for Sustainable Development and Management of the Environment
Dr. Sunil Bhaskaran (Chemistry and Chemical Technology)
Geospatial technology which includes Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing Systems, and Global Positioning Systems are cutting edge technologies which when applied enable students to analyze complex relationships between humans and the environment. This will lead to a better understanding of our environment and issues related to sustainable development and planning. This project will enable BCC students, faculty, and staff to be exposed to this technology through campus workshops and research activity.

Sponsor Author Mark Mathabane’s Visit to Center for Teaching Excellence
Dr. Harriet Shenkman (Center for Teaching Excellence, and co-sponsored by the Department of Student Life, the National Center for Educational Alliances, and the Department of English)
Funds were awarded to bring the author Mark Mathabane, a former South African citizen, to campus to participate in the CTE Author series. The author of Kaffir Boy will share experiences during the apartheid regime in SA and promote a discussion about tolerance and inclusiveness.

Development of Training Program to Promote Tolerance and Understanding for BCC Faculty, Staff and Students
Ms. Barbara Schaier-Peleg (National Center for Educational Alliances), Professor Andrew Rowan (English and NCEA), and Ms. Melissa Kirk (Student Life)
Forty faculty, staff and students will participate in two training sessions at the New York Tolerance Center, and activities supportive of creating a more accepting climate on campus will be scheduled for both the spring and fall semesters. This project will result in the training of a significant number of faculty, staff, and student leaders.

2010 Presidential Grant Activities

Raising Global Awareness of Early Childhood/Child Education
Professor Diane D’Alessio, Dr. Joan Wilson, and Dr. J. Juechter (Department of Education and Reading)
One of the goals of the TESOL project is to provide information to learners about opportunities for fieldwork and voluntary and paid teaching assignments around the world. In Spring 2010 Dr. Joan Wilson attended the TESOL Convention in Boston and acquired materials relevant to instruction and learning. These are being prepared as resources for faculty. She also has become part of a world-wide web network of TESOL instructors on assignments around the globe who have an on-going exchange of questions and answers for immediate instructional problem-solving strategies and resources. She is compiling references for faculty. Both Dr. Wilson and Professor Diane D’Alessio are registering for TESOL workshops which address instruction and will share all that they have gathered with the department’s faculty this semester. Further, Professor D’Alessio is developing a list of visual aids to be purchased and maintained in the Library for use of students and faculty.

Creating a Culture of Peace (CCP): Non-violence Training for Personnel and Social Change
Dr. David Blot (Department of English)
Three trainings led by Janet Chisholm were conducted during the Spring 2010 semester. The first two were basic level trainings open to students, faculty and staff. Making use of the Popular Education model, participants contributed experientially to an understanding of violence, active nonviolence, social action, community building and action planning. There was a great deal of directed activity and positive energy. From these trainings seven participants were selected to participate in the facilitator training. All invitees accepted and completed the 28-hour training. The campus now has 7 certified CCP facilitators who will carry on the CCP trainings beginning in January 2011. Evaluations of all three training sessions were very positive.

Beyond Genocide
Dr. Julie Bolt and Dr. David Blot (Department of English)
Artist Amy Fagin uses illumination panels to encourage participants to discuss the various genocides that have occurred around the world throughout history. Ms. Fagin gave a total of 14 workshops to students and faculty from October 4th to 6th. Participants worked in groups studying carefully crafted illumination panels that related to the historical material presented. Each group worked with one of the panels which focused on a specific occurrence of genocide, and at the end of the workshop, they each gave presentations about the genocide they studied to the whole class. Feedback on evaluation forms was universally very positive. Ms. Fagin left prints of six of her illuminations at the college along with all her workshop materials so that the workshops will be a sustainable part of the Global Initiative curriculum.

BCC Organic Garden for Students, Faculty and Staff
Dr. Claudio Mazzatenta (Biology and Medical Lab Technology)
In Spring 2010, Dr. Claudio Mazzatenta worked with the Department of Physical Plant Services to select a piece of land that faced the new childcare building and the south side of Colston Hall’s lower level to create an organic garden. In addition to funding from the Presidential Grants, additional support was provided by ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Program) under the supervision of Dean David Taylor. In collaboration with Professor Charmaine Aleong (health, physical education and wellness) and Ms. Syd Williams (ASAP), the project took off in celebration of Earth Day. During the summer, several students tended the garden and a basket of vegetables was offered by late summer to President Williams. A club will be formed shortly to guarantee the continuation of this project.

Evaluation of Tolerance and Phytoremediation Potential of American International Rice
Dr. Charles Maliti and Dr. Tahhan Jaradat (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technology)
Content will be added later...

2009 Presidential Grant Activities

Language is the Medium, Culture is the Message: Globalizing the Foreign Language Curriculum at Bronx Community College
Dr. Laurel Cummins, Diana Flores, Dr. Giulia Guarnieri, Dr. Alexander Lamazares (Modern Language Department)
Project Description: Support for a research project that will incorporate global content into the foreign language curriculum, which will: (1) develop a definition of global learning for the department; (2) assess how students will learn global content and develop common strategy for incorporating global content into the curricula; (3) rewrite syllabi for each of the participating languages, Spanish 17 (Flores), Portuguese 11, 12 (Lamazares), French 11/12 (Cummins), Italian 11/12 (Guarnieri); (4) develop assessment tools to demonstrate if students master this knowledge.

An Online Global Framework for Developing Student Learning Skills in History of the Modern World (HIS 11) Courses
Dr.Jordi Getman-Eraso, Associate Professor, History Department
The objective of the grant was to find ways to utilize technology and online resources to serve the specific educational context of the HIS 11 students, who are typically in remediation. English is often not their first language and they represent a myriad of cultures. Though the multiplicities of cultural backgrounds can be considered an obstacle to effective teaching, the aim was to use the varied personal circumstances and experiences that have shaped HIS 11 student’s lives as a stepping stone for educating them about World History. The project centered on three main themes: 1) Expanding the History Department’s General Education initiative to include HIS 11 students; 2) Using the world wide web as a global extension of the classroom; and 3) Developing online information literacy skills. These objectives guided the development of specific information literacy tools for the eHerodotus website (http://bcc-cuny.digication.com/eherodotus), the History Department’s online companion for HIS 11 courses. Also a result also led to the creation of an online ePortfolio assignment on globalization for students in my HIS 11 classes (http://bcc-cuny.digication.com/contamination) that integrates the global and democratic dimensions of the web, so as to allow students to bring into the classroom their cultural backgrounds in a way that facilitates their learning as well as reinforces the global essence of a World History course

The Salzburg Global Seminar – Greening the Minds: Universities, Climate Leadership, and Sustainable Futures
Dr.Claudio Mazzatenta (Biology Department)
Project Description: Attend the Salzburg Global Seminar Greening the Minds: Universities, Climate Leadership and Sustainable Futures, in July 2009 – bringing back to the campus ideas to incorporate in courses as well as engaging other faculty members (such as those in previous experiences, such as organizing Brown Bag Lunch discussions, poster contests, and conducting relevant research and scholarship).

Introduction to Managing Environmental Conflict Workshop
Dr. Neal Phillip (Chemistry Department)
Project Description: Attend a workshop (March 2009) in Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR) sponsored by the US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (whose mission is to help find workable solutions to tough environmental conflicts in the US). Results following workshop participation will include: (1) incorporation of ECR into curriculum of Environmental Technology Program; (2) incorporate ECR principles on Earth Systems and Environmental Science Curriculum; (3) work with Continuing Education to develop a certificate program in Environmental Conflict Resolution; (4) work with BCC Environmental Health and Safety Officer to adopt ECR principles to manage environmental disputes arising on BCC campus; (5) work with CUNY committees to manage environmental issues for the University; (6) could work with city and state agencies to resolve environmental conflicts.