EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Women In Philanthropy at EMU, a group of faculty, staff, alumnae and friends who support Eastern Michigan University, has awarded 10 grants totaling more than $40,000 to support a variety of projects at the University.

The group organized in 2010 to help support projects that enhance Eastern Michigan's mission to benefit the community, but don't fit neatly into the University's budget. Grants are available to faculty, students, student organizations, and university alumni. Since its founding, WIP has awarded more than $200,000 in grants for various projects.

Each voting member of Women In Philanthropy at EMU pledges $1,000 a year for at least three years and, unlike many philanthropic organizations, each member has a say in which grants are funded.  And while the group is called Women in Philanthropy at EMU, men are welcome, too, as long as they support the group's vision.

Anne Balazs, president of Women in Philanthropy at EMU, is excited about the growth of the organization.

"We are adding new members at all levels of support and saw a record number of grant applications this past cycle," said Balazs. "After six years of awarding funds, we see the fruits of our fundraising taking shape on campus and changing lives. WIP is accomplishing what we set out to do." 

The group seeks to fund projects that fulfill one of the following criteria:

Enhance learning opportunities for EMU faculty, staff, alumni and/or students.

Collaboratively improve the EMU climate.

Foster creativity and innovation as they relate to EMU.

Improve communication among diverse groups within the EMU community.

The 2017 grant recipients and their awards include:

Heeding the Words of Elders: Translation for Community Action. Sara Acton (student): $1,250, for a program that will provide the translation of a focus group conducted in the Cree Native American tribe and with Elders of a Cree First Nation on how to best support child language development within Cree culture.

The Seventeen-Acre Classroom. Michael McVey (faculty): $2,000, for a program that will demonstrate how EMU teacher candidates can work with community science educators to develop place-based environmental science projects in a local nature preserve. The grant will support a Saline middle school science program with materials, developing a curriculum and enhancing environmental education.

BIKEMU: Fostering a Culture of Health and Sustainability at EMU through Bicycle Infrastructure. Sarah Walsh (faculty): $3,920, for a project that will fund the installation of two BIKEMU self-service repair stations on campus. The BIKEMU repair stations will allow cyclists on campus to keep their bikes in working order while promoting an affordable, physically active and sustainable transportation choice.  

Creating a World-Class Exhibit. Nancy Bryk (faculty): $4,450, for a project that will train students to collaboratively develop a museum exhibit using museum-quality materials. World-class consultants in exhibit design, evaluation and conservation will also be mentoring the students.

Authentic Research in Intro Bio I Labs. Anne Casper (faculty): $4,500, for a project that will implement an authentic research experience called “Small World Initiative” in the Introductory Biology I lab at EMU. The goal of SWI is to crowd-source the discovery of new antibiotics from soil-dwelling microbes and to immerse first-year students in exciting, hands-on research.

Concepts to Go! Christina Mirtes (faculty): $4,500, for a literacy project that will provide early childhood education students the opportunity to create 50 developmentally appropriate activity bags. Each bag will contain specific books varying in genre, an interdisciplinary lesson plan and related materials for activities to implement in EMU’s Children’s Institute and other preschool field placements within the community.

Discovering and Developing LEADership through Alternative Breaks. Calvin Orr II (student): $4,615, for a project in which a group of LEADership minor students will contribute to the LEADership program and empirical research through a series of comparative reflective journal analysis. The group includes students of color, women, LGBT, students with disabilities and religiously underrepresented students.

Closing Racial and Gender Degree Attainment Gaps through STEM-based Living Learning Communities. Ethriam Brammer (staff): $5,000, for a summer grant writing retreat that will create a learning community model to increase the participation and success of women of color in STEM fields.

Collections as Data: Digitizing the Salary Records of EMU. Alexis Braun Marks (faculty): $5,000, for a project that will digitize and make available EMU salary records for research purposes. These records will allow researchers to measure the growth of departments and programs, examine wage disparities and use EMU as a model institution to identify trends in higher education.

The SisterHOOD Initiative: Fostering Dialogue to Create Living Learning Communities. Raul Leon (faculty): $5,000, for a multi-year initiative designed to provide academic, personal and professional development opportunities that align with the mission of EMU. The initiative aims to engage and foster a stronger sense of community for women of color at EMU while focusing on retention and degree completion.

To find out more about Women In Philanthropy, visit http://www.emich.edu/wip-emu/