Slandie Dieujuste, PhD, vice president for Campus Life and Inclusion, and Elizabeth M. Morgan, PhD, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, received a $240,000 American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Nonprofit Assistance Program grant from the city of Springfield. The funding supports increased mental health services both at Springfield College and in city of Springfield Schools for February 2024 through May 2025.
Charlene Elvers, EdD, executive director of the Center for Service and Leadership, received a $10,000 College Service Grant from the Allstate Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Expanding Leadership and Opportunity. This grant supports student-led community service on campus. It will be used to enhance the depth of impact that students engaged in the Partners Program have on the youth with whom they work, and it will promote the growth and development of college students as everyday leaders. The Partners Program is a college student mentoring initiative for 5th graders that builds leadership and empowerment skills to assist youth in the transition to middle school.
In summer 2024, 26 Springfield College faculty and staff participated in a Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Facilitated through the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (CETLS), HEIF supported cross-campus collaborations among Springfield Technical Community College (STCC), Holyoke Community College, Berkshire Community College, and Westfield State University. Joan Giovannini, former associate director of CETLS, served as campus lead, and Chris Hakala, PhD, director of CETLS, worked on the initial contract with STCC. The project focused on strategies to address issues of equity and inclusion that emphasized fostering relationship-rich education, humanizing teaching practices, transparency in teaching and learning, and equity skills training. The grant culminated in each participant creating a focused action plan. Faculty stipends were $1,350 each for participating and creating a final action plan. For a list of other Springfield College faculty and staff who participated in the project, visit https://springfield.edu/academics/center-for-excellence/heif
Danielle Griffin, assistant director of the Center for Service and Leadership, received a $3,500 grant in September 2024 from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to support the operations of the Mary Ann Coughlin Pride Pantry. The money was used to purchase two refrigeration units for the pantry, which will enable the storage of a greater number and variety of perishable food items.
In September 2024, Stephanie R. Logan, EdD, professor of Education, received a $1,500 Dollar General Literacy Foundation Grant to bring second graders from select Springfield Public Schools to campus for the 2025 African American Read-In. The National African American Read-In was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. At Springfield College, we look to offer elementary students experiences in movement and creative arts and anchored in the literary contributions of local and national Black authors and illustrators.
Slandie Dieujuste
Elizabeth Morgan
Danielle Griffin
Stephanie R. Logan
Anne C. Wheeler, PhD, associate professor of composition and rhetoric and chair of the Department of Literature, Writing and Journalism, received a $7,777 Expand Massachusetts Stories grant from Mass Humanities. The funding will allow for the development of The Western Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Oral History Project, including the collection and preservation of oral histories from LGBTQ+ individuals who lived, worked, and socialized in Western Massachusetts from the 1940s to the 1980s.
