Seven receive LEAP grant funding
Article By: Denise Ray
Seven University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty members have been awarded Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) grants for five projects. UNG's Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville and Oconee campuses had recipients.
LEAP is an Association of American Colleges and Universities program that champions real-world experiences, broad knowledge bases, and higher-order capacities. LEAP users engage the community in the classroom to better prepare students for a global economy and diversified democracy. LEAP emphasizes student development of:
- A broad knowledge of the wider world (science, culture, and society).
- In-depth achievement in a specific field of interest.
- A sense of social responsibility.
- Strong intellectual and practical skills that span all major fields of study.
- Critical thinking skills allowing them to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.
The 2022-23 recipients will receive funds ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Dr. Ana Pozzi Harris' project, "The Hispanic and Latino/a Connection: Real-world experiential learning for UNG art students and high school students in North Georgia," focuses on all aspects of an art exhibition including artwork, exhibition design and marketing. The project also includes the production of an online exhibition catalog.
"I am delighted and grateful that my project and my work will be funded," Pozzi Harris, a senior lecturer of visual arts, said. "Half of the funds received will be allocated to purchase exhibition infrastructure materials to support the exhibition associated with the grant as well as future exhibitions at the student gallery located at the Arts & Technology building on the Gainesville Campus."
"Pollinator Research Lab and Community Garden Study," submitted by Dr. Gary Adcox, director of campus success and strategic initiatives, will be adding to an existing garden on the Oconee Campus.
I am delighted and grateful that my project and my work will be funded. Half of the funds received will be allocated to purchase exhibition infrastructure materials to support the exhibition associated with the grant as well as future exhibitions at the student gallery located at the Arts & Technology building on the Gainesville Campus.
Dr. Ana Pozzi Harris
UNG senior lecturer of visual arts
The garden was established with a previous LEAP grant and a Presidential Innovation Award. The current funds will expand the garden.
"Not only does the garden add a resource for our faculty for research and the Food Pantry, but it also provides a tranquil place for students, faculty and staff to take a break," Adcox said.
The grant funding will add a lasting tribute to honor veterans and acknowledge UNG's designation as a senior military college to the garden at the Oconee Campus, something that Adcox and Susan Brantley, who partnered with Adcox, have been hoping to accomplish for some time. Brantley is a senior lecturer of biology.
Titled "Science and journalism: A cross-disciplinary exploration of one of psychology's most notable case studies," Dr. Ralph Hale's project is a cross-disciplinary semester-long project between an upper-level psychology class and a first-year composition course wherein students will focus on the case of Henry Molaison. Hale is an assistant professor of psychological science.
"North Georgia: A SoTL Study" by Dr. Melissa Schindler and Dr. Erin Bush is a two-part project, the first of which involves undergraduate research in English and history. In the second part, a research team will study the feasibility and efficacy of the joint undergraduate curriculum and publish results in a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) journal. Schindler is an assistant professor of English and Bush an assistant professor of history, anthropology and philosophy.
Yi Deng's project is "2022 World Food Day Celebration," and involves the creation of a website. Deng is an associate professor of philosophy.
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