GRANTS and SPONSORED PROGRAMS
Current Grant Awards at Saint Michael's College
The following grants have been awarded and are currently being implemented at Saint Michael's College:
Vermont Consortium for Language and Academics (VCLA)
VCLA is a five-year federal grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Susan Jenkins, chair of the School of International Studies is managing the implementation of this project. Saint Michael's College is receiving $698,253 from the Department of Education over five years. This funding provides 98% of the necessary resources for this program.
The Vermont Consortium for Language and Academics (VCLA) is designed to address the urgent need of Vermont school districts to increase their capacity to address the NCLB-mandated educational requirements of English Language Learners.
The Consortium will drive three major efforts to help VT school districts meet this challenge:
a) the VCLA Teacher Education Program,
b) the VCLA Professional Development Program, and
c) the VCLA Inter-Regional Network and support website.
For information regarding
the Vermont Consortium for Language and Academics, please contact:
Rita MacDonald,
VCLA Coordinator at
Rita MacDonald
Vermont Genetics Network at Saint Michael's College
Saint Michael's College researchers will receive $370,373 in academic year 2006-2007 from the Vermont Genetics Network.
The Vermont Genetics Network (VGN) is funded by a five-year, $16.5 million award to the University of Vermont from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). VGN is part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative called IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). Under the direction of Dr. Judith Van Houten, the VGN, which links scientists at Castleton State College, Johnson State College, Middlebury College, Norwich University and Saint Michael's College to resources at UVM, is designed to provide funding for research, equipment and technology necessary to enhance competitiveness for national funding for genetics research. Other aims of the project include increasing the number of undergraduates who go on to biomedical careers from the baccalaureate colleges, to provide and support bioinformatics capability in the state, and to increase the diversity of biomedical scientists.
The VGN Coordinator at Saint Michael's College is Dr. Josh Van Houten, Leavy Family Chair in Chemistry. Questions regarding the VGN program at Saint Michael's College may be directed to Dr. Van Houten at Dr. Josh Van Houten
Faculty members at Saint Michael's College currently receiving funding through VGN are:
Dr. Brian Kyte, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
“Study of Hualuronic Acid Mimetics as Probes for Study of Metastisis of Cancer
Dr. Joanna Ellis-Monaghan, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
“Graph Polynomials and DNA Structures”
Dr. Mark Lubkowitz, Assistant Professor of Biology
“The Role of Peptide Transporters in Rice Seed Germination”
Dr. Malcolm Lippert, Associate Professor of Biology
“Transcription Associated Mutations in Yeast”
Dr. Alayne Schroll, Associate Professor of Chemistry
“Synthesis, Characterization and Use of New Selenocysteine Derivatives
Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum, Assistant Professor of Psychology
“The Effects of Nicotine on an Operant Test of Impulsivity in Rats”
The Louisville Institute
Dr. Donna Freitas has received a $44,000 grant from the Louisville Institute to support her research, “Spirituality and Sexuality in American College Life: A Social-Scientific Survey”. Students from select colleges will be participating in this research project. Oxford University Press will publish the results. Dr. Freitas is an assistant professor in Religious Studies.
Vermont EPSCoR
Dr. Anthony Richardson has received $39,000 from Vermont EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) to support his research and help create an Immersive Virtual Reality Laboratory at Saint Michael's College. Dr. Richardson is an assistant professor of Psychology.
National Security Agency
Dr. Joanna Ellis-Monaghan, assistant professor of Mathematics, was recently awarded $55,500 from the National Security Agency for her research, “Graph Polynomials and Their Applications”. This funding will support Dr. Ellis-Monaghan’s summer research through 2008.
NASA
Saint Michael's College will receive $40,000 from the University of Vermont for a subaward grant. Funding is provided through the National Space Grant College and Fellowship program. Dr. Zsu Kada, Chair of the Mathematics Department, directs this project that supports student initiated research projects.