Roanoke College

CARES ACT ED-GRANTS-042120-004 - INSTITUTIONAL PORTION

CARES ACT FUNDING

UPWARD BOUND PROGRAM

FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION - COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING - CONSTRUCTION - 221 COLLEGE LN, SALEM, VA 24153 DIRECTOR: DR. KATHY J. WOLFE (EMAIL: KWOLFE@ROANOKE.EDU, PHONE: 540-375-2203) WEBSITE: WWW.ROANOKE.EDU TOTAL REQUEST: $505,000 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: ROANOKE COLLEGE’S CURRENT STEM EQUIPMENT IS BEYOND ITS’ LIFESPAN AND SUFFERS FROM SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION. NEW EQUIPMENT WOULD BE UTILIZED IN THE REVITALIZATION OF THE CAMPUS’ SCIENCE FACILITIES, AS WELL AS THE MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR SCIENCE CENTER SCHEDULED FOR CONSTRUCTION IN EARLY 2024. HAVING UPDATED EQUIPMENT WILL SOLIDIFY THE STEM DEPARTMENTS AT ROANOKE COLLEGE AS CUTTING-EDGE, AS THE NEW SCIENCE FACILITIES ARE ONLY AS EFFICIENT AS THE TECHNOLOGY THEY HOUSE. THIS FUNDING WOULD FACILITATE THE PURCHASE OF NEW EQUIPMENT THAT WILL BENEFIT THE BIOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS IN PARTICULAR, AND WILL BE USED FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AS WELL AS RESEARCH. THIS WILL STRENGTHEN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND ROANOKE COLLEGE BY CREATING A PIPELINE OF QUALIFIED AND WELL-ROUNDED INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN BENEFIT THE REGION AND MAKE IT INTO A DESTINATION FOR CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH. ROANOKE COLLEGE IS A LIBERAL ARTS, UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTION THAT SERVES APPROXIMATELY 2,000 STUDENTS EACH YEAR. ROANOKE COLLEGE’S SURROUNDING REGION OF THE ROANOKE VALLEY IS THE FOURTH LARGEST METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA (POPULATION ~ 315,000). THE REGION IS RAPIDLY GROWING IN HEALTHCARE ADVANCEMENTS, AND THE UPDATED STEM EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY AT ROANOKE COLLEGE WILL PROVIDE HANDS-ON RESEARCH AND LEARNING FOR STUDENTS AS THEY FEED INTO THE LOCAL CAREER PIPELINE POST-GRADUATION. EQUIPMENT OUTLINED WITHIN THE PROPOSAL WILL SUPPORT DAILY CLASSROOM LEARNING, FACULTY-LED RESEARCH, AND STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. AN INJECTION OF FEDERAL FUNDING ($505,000) WOULD BE INSTRUMENTAL IN SOLIDIFYING FURTHER PARTNERSHIPS WITH REGIONAL WORKFORCE ENTITIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS VIRGINIA TECH (30 MILES FROM ROANOKE COLLEGE). THESE UPGRADES TO EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY WILL ALSO BOLSTER THE REGION’S HEALTHCARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS, ALONG WITH THE GROWING LOCAL FOCI OF NEUROSCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING. STUDENTS WHO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ROANOKE COLLEGE’S SCIENCE AND EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS’ UNIQUE COLLABORATION ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MINOR IN EDUCATION AND MAJOR IN SCIENCE, OPENING THE DOORS TO TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND SCIENTISTS THROUGH K-12 LEARNING. THE PROPOSED EQUIPMENT PURCHASES OUTLINED WILL NOT ONLY SUPPORT THE TECHNOLOGY OF ROANOKE COLLEGE BUT ALSO THE EDUCATION AND CAREERS OF TOMORROW’S LEADERS, THINKERS, AND TEACHERS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EPIIC: CONNECT FOUR, BUILDING REGIONAL INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS TO ENHANCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT -MOST AVAILABLE ESTIMATES PREDICT A STEM WORKER SHORTFALL IN THE US RANGING BETWEEN A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND AND SEVERAL MILLION WORKERS. THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTE HAS APTLY DESCRIBED THIS REALITY AS ?ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS? FACED BY THE US WHICH REQUIRES GREATER INVESTMENT TO ?BOOST OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND STEM EDUCATION TRAINING IN ORDER TO STAY COMPETITIVE?. THE ?CONNECT FOUR? PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS CHALLENGE THROUGH DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH REGIONAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS. THE TEAM BRINGS TOGETHER ALBION COLLEGE, CANISIUS UNIVERSITY, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND ROANOKE COLLEGE, EACH WELL POSITIONED TO ADVANCE INNOVATION IN RELEVANT REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS. THE TEAM SEEKS TO ADVANCE FOUR AIMS: 1. SCALE UP CAPACITY TO DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS, 2. EXPAND OUR CONNECTIONS TO A WIDER NETWORK OF EXTERNAL PARTNERS, 3. DEVELOP IMPROVED MEANS OF COMMUNICATION WITH CRITICAL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, AND 4. CONVERSION OF ONE-OFF INTERACTIONS INTO MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE AND REPEATABLE PARTNERSHIPS AT SCALE. THE TEAM AIMS TO BUILD REGIONAL INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS TO ENHANCE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. EACH INSTITUTION WILL ESTABLISH ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY, SCALE FACULTY INVOLVEMENT IN EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS (I.E., INDUSTRY, REGIONAL INNOVATION CENTERS, NON-PROFITS, GOVERNMENT, AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS), AND CREATE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS. METHODS INCLUDE IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS, EXPANDING EXISTING COLLEGE-EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS, LEVERAGING CLIENT ENGAGEMENTS, AND CREATING A TOOLKIT TO DOCUMENT AND STREAMLINE EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS BARRIERS SUCH AS LIMITED FACULTY EXPERIENCE, HIGH TEACHING LOADS, AND LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH REGIONAL WORKFORCE NEEDS THROUGH EPIIC FACULTY FELLOW PROGRAMS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND STRUCTURED OUTREACH. THIS INITIATIVE WILL FOSTER ROBUST ECOSYSTEMS OF EXTERNAL PARTNER-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION, SUPPORT INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION ACROSS DIVERSE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF EACH INSTITUTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

COORDINATION BETWEEN CELLULOSE AND LIGNIN SYNTHESIS IN ROOT CELL WALLS

REAL-LIFE INQUIRY-BASED GC/MS EXPERIMENTS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION CHEMISTRY COURSES

HUMANITIES COLLABORATION CENTER

A LIBERAL ARTS APPROACH TO AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CURRICULUM

TO SUPPORT A PERFORMANCE AND RECORDING PROJECT OF CHAMBER MUSIC BY "NEA JAZZ MASTER" GUNTHER SCHULLER AND JOHN D'EARTH PERFORMED BY THE KADINSKY TRI

COORDINATION BETWEEN CELLULOSE AND LIGNIN SYNTHESIS IN ROOT CELL WALLS