Faculty - Community-Engaged Learning Mini-Grants - CCEL

CCEL Community-Engaged Learning Mini-Grants Program

The Center for Community-Engaged Learning (CCEL) mini-grant is intended to directly support activities related to developing, implementing or expanding community-engaged learning opportunities for MSU students, 4-H youth, or Extension clientele. Community-engaged learning integrates meaningful community service into academic course or Extension programs using experiential learning and critical reflection to enrich the educational experience, teach civic responsibility, and meet the needs of a community.

Applicants may request up to $500 for course or project support. Preference will be given to projects that directly impact the expansion and support of community-engaged learning opportunities for MSU students or 4-H youth addressing critical community needs.

Eligibility: Any Mississippi State University faculty member or Extension personnel is eligible to receive a mini-grant. Funding must be spent by the end of the 2018 fiscal year and cannot be used to pay for student or faculty salaries. Recipients must also complete a year-end project report documenting how funds were spent.

Deadline: Applications are due March 31st, 2017. Award announcements will be made May 5th, 2017.

CCEL Mini-Grant Application 2017-2018

[-] 2016 - 2017 community-engaged learning scholarships

Instructor: Dr. Cooper Brookshire

Academic Department: Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine

Project Description:
Dr. Brookshire received a mini-grant to use with his Population Medicine course (CVM 5273). Eight veterinary students visited Hough Dement Animal Shelter in Indianola, Mississippi to observe and provide consultation on biosecurity and sanitation. Shelter employees gave the students a tour of the facility and asked them to evaluate current protocols. Students then returned to make recommendations and provide demonstrations. Mini-grant funds paid the fuel costs for the trips and there were enough funds left to purchase a new disinfection system for the shelter. Finally, Dr. Brookshire and the student team created a reference manual of their work and presented it to the HDAS staff.

Instructor: Ms. Kim Walters

Academic Department: Mathematics & Statistics

Project Description:
Ms. Walters used her mini-grant award to support a partnership with the first grade classes at Starkville’s Sudduth Elementary. Her MA 1413: Structure of the Real Number System students planned and implemented a First Grade Math Fun Day. MA 1413 is a required course for Elementary Education majors and this project gave them a real-world experience in working with primary grade students on their math skills. The MSU students created math games that would test and enhance the first graders skills. Both sets of students were able to play the games and learn together while having fun. Mini-grant funds allowed for the purchase of materials to build the games. Additionally, the games were sturdy enough to leave with the teachers at Sudduth so they could continue to use them with their students.

[+] 2015 - 2016 community-engaged learning scholarships

Fall 2015 – Choctaw County 4-H Students Invest in Community Health

Instructor: Mr. Darrell Banks

Project Description:
Choctaw County Extension agent Darrell Banks created an opportunity to teach 4-H members about gardening, making healthier food choices, selling fresh vegetables at the local farmer’s market, and giving back to their communities. The Choctaw County 4-H project was divided into two distinct phases. During phase one, the students worked to build six raised-bed gardens. A variety of seasonal vegetables were planted after bed construction was complete. The summer garden consisted of tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, and pumpkins, and the fall garden consisted of radishes, greens, and carrots. These vegetables were given to the 4-H cooking clubs for consumption and preservation through canning. Phase two of the project involved community outreach. This phase introduced the 4-H members to serving their community in two specific ways. Some of the vegetables grown in the gardens were given to needy families in Choctaw County through a local food pantry. This enabled the 4-H students to directly engage their community. Another portion of vegetables was taken and sold at a local farmers market. The funds from the sale were taken and used to purchase seeds for next year’s planting. The 4-H members will continue planting vegetables every year and maintaining the six newly constructed beds throughout the growing season under the supervision of Mr. Banks and other adult 4-H volunteers.

Spring 2016 – 4-H students connect with local government

Instructor: Ms. Regina Boykins

Project Description:
Ms. Regina Boykins, Extension agent in Humpheys County, wanted her 4-H youth to learn more about the importance of community involvement. She used her mini-grant funds to implement MSU Extension’s Keys to the Community program. The goal of the program is for students to connect with local government officials to learn the importance of civic duty. Students visited the local courthouse, the town museum, and other attractions to speak with officials. They also organized an anti-litter campaign for Humphreys County as well as worked in the Belzoni Community Garden. At the conclusion of the program, students shared their new knowledge with the community at a graduation ceremony.

Spring 2016 – ADS 4221 - Capstone Course

Instructor: Dr. Brandi Karisch and Ms. Jessica Graves

Academic Department: Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences

Project Description:
Ms. Jessica Graves and Dr. Brandi Karisch’s Animal and Dairy Science students were tasked with finding a way to show local kindergartners about the realities of working with animals. The Afternoon on the Farm project is part of the ADS 4221 capstone course. Groups of MSU students created stations where the kindergarten students could see and learn about working with sheep, cows, and pigs. The event was designed to challenge MSU students to apply knowledge they had learned during their academic careers into information that a kindergartner could understand. For example, they helped the children use balloons, shaving cream and tongue depressors to simulate sheep shearing. Both Ms. Graves and Dr. Karisch feel that the topic of farm animals is of particular importance as children are increasingly out of touch with where their food comes from. Their ADS students provided a way for local children to interact with livestock through unique hands-on activities.

Spring 2016 – TKB 4583 – Graphics and Web Design

Instructor: Dr. Sang Joon Lee

Academic Department: Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development

Project Description:
Dr. Sang Joon Lee’s TKB 4583: Graphics and Web Design class partnered with United Way of North Central Mississippi (UWNCMS) to address their organization’s need for a new website. The United Way of North Central Mississippi, established in 1979, is an organization comprised of community volunteers from a variety of areas that work to positively impact their communities on a daily basis. They build relationships with other public agencies and work together to make a positive impact and change the lives of community members by providing a wide variety of programs and services. The UWNCMS is accountable to the public for the distribution of their donated funds. They enable people that have donated to decide where their money goes to best benefit their community. The class met with UWNCMS’s Executive Director Candy Crecink and members of the Communications Committee to hear their visions for the new website. UWNCMS’s website had not been updated in a while and their leadership felt a re-design was essential for potential clients and donors. The students divided into groups and worked on designs for a new website for the organization. At the end of the end of the semester, the class presented their proposals to the United Way team who decided which plan they would implement.

[+] 2014 - 2015 community-engaged learning scholarships

Fall 2014 – ARC 4000 & HON 4003 – Independent Study & Honors College Oxbridge Tutorial

Instructor: Ms. Alexis Gregory

Academic Department: College of Art, Architecture and Design

Focus Area: Economic and Consumer Development

Project Description:
Assistant Professor Alexis Gregory (School of Architecture) mentored four architecture students completing a community-engaged learning project to benefit the Oxford-Lafayette Habitat for Humanity in Oxford, Mississippi. Students completed site analysis, case study analysis, construction materials, building code, and zoning research for the site of two future Habitat for Humanity homes. To complete the project, the team traveled to Oxford with funding provided by a CCEL community-engaged learning mini-grant. Working directly and in person with the Oxford-Lafayette Habitat for Humanity staff helped the students to established positive relationship with the community partner, and helped to assure that the future home designs would be site-appropriate, realistic, and in compliance with local building codes. Even though this was a short-term project, it benefited the community partner as well as the students who may not have had an opportunity to participate in a semester-long community-engaged learning endeavor.

Fall 2014 – ARC 4000 – Directed Individual Study

Instructor: Ms. Emily McGlohn

Academic Department: College of Art, Architecture and Design

Focus Area: Economic and Consumer Development

Project Description:
Assistant Professor Emily McGlohn (School of Architecture) coordinated a partnership between Mississippi State University’s School of Architecture and Auburn University’s Rural Studio. The Rural Studio students designed and built eight $20,000 homes for low-income Alabama residents. The Mississippi State University three-student team (dubbed the Audit Squad), tested and recorded the energy efficiency of these homes; their travel costs were covered by a CCEL community-engaged learning mini-grant. The initiative was hosted by Rose Fellow Emily Roush-Elliot and the Greenwood Leflore Carroll Economic Development Foundation (GLCEDF). Using specialized equipment to detect air leaks and heat infiltration, students suggested improvements to make these low-income houses more energy efficient, comfortable, and healthy. Teaching students the importance of energy efficiency in building design through hands-on activities increased knowledge retention and students’ professional expertise while increasing the Rural Studio‘s construction knowledge base. The ultimate “winners” are the low-income home owners, whose pay less in monthly utility bills through the students’ efforts.

Summer 2014 – COE 8553 – Students Affairs in Higher Education

Instructor: Dr. Danielle Molina

Academic Department: College of Art, Architecture and Design

Focus Area: Economic and Consumer Development

Project Description:
In an effort to create a reciprocal learning opportunity benefiting both the Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA) and Mississippi State University’s graduate students in Student Affairs, Assistant Professor Danielle Molina (Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology) created an experiential community-engaged learning project involving visits to six southern higher education institutions. CCEL community-engaged learning mini-grant funds were used to partially cover transportation and accommodations expenses. The class met with the SACSA president to discuss challenges facing southern universities based on stereotypes associated with the South. A week-long trip allowed the students to visit Emory University, Bob Jones University, Appalachian State University, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Berea College, and Tennessee State University. As a result of their visits, and through reflective journals, interactive class activities, and opportunities to engage in an open dialogue with SACSA, the students suggested changes in publicity and recruitment strategies, and created short videos to help SACSA with marketing and recruitment.

Spring 2015 – ABE 4911/4961 – Engineering Seminar

Instructor: Dr. LaShan Simpson

Academic Department: Department of Agriculture and Commerce

Focus Area: Health Promotion & Nutrition

Project Description:
To provide a hands-on learning experience for her community-engaged learning students, Assistant Professor LaShan Simpson (Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering) partnered with the Research Department at the Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Stokic and his staff introduced the MSU students to current technologies used for physical therapy, discussed limitations of the equipment, hinted at potential solutions, and assisted with designing a group project for the class. For their service-learning project, Biophysical Properties of Materials students were asked to design a device to help clinicians assess the degree of muscle tightness resulting from an injury to the central nervous system (e.g., a stroke, brain injury, or a spinal cord injury). CCEL service-learning mini-grant funds paid for student travel to Jackson and the supplies for building device mock-ups. While this collaboration will result in prototype ideas only, Dr. Simpson’s hopes to facilitate a prototype development opportunity next year for the students involved in the project.