FVCC Foundation awards $33,000 for faculty projects
The Foundation at Flathead Valley Community College recently announced grant awards totaling more than $33,000 to FVCC faculty and staff for projects that enhance student learning experiences.
The grants went toward six independent projects tied to FVCC faculty. The grants range from projects propelling students in engineering research to botanical literacy.
Tied to one of the awards, the FVCC Art Department will host a juried art exhibit and auction in celebration of FVCC’s 50th anniversary in early June.
“We are excited to bring the art community together for this special art auction to commemorate FVCC’s 50th Anniversary,” said Associate Professor of Art David Regan. “We thank the FVCC Foundation for giving our students, faculty and the community this opportunity.”
Students participating in the auction with their art will experience submitting work for publication, organizing exhibits, showing pieces in a gallery setting and selling work. Along with student art, community and faculty artists will be invited to submit art for the event.
Proceeds from the auction will benefit the FVCC Art Endowment Fund.
Now in its 12th year, the Foundation’s Enhancement Grant program has provided seed money for programs including the Culinary Institute of Montana’s Chef’s Table program and The Scholars program at FVCC.
It continues to provide resources for new and entrepreneurial initiatives through proceeds from Festival of Flavors fundraising events.
In addition to grants for innovative projects, travel grants were approved for students to present research or work at regional and national conferences in the fields of psychology, biology, jewelry design and leadership development.
Enhancement Grants were also awarded for the following projects:
Flathead Valley STEM Races
FVCC’s Engineering department will implement a semester-long, team-based engineering project for high school and college students taking science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes. The project will integrate multiple academic disciplines and culminate in a tournament where teams of high school students present their work to the public. The teams will be mentored and coached throughout the semester by FVCC students, FVCC faculty and representatives from local business and industry.
Sharp AQUOS BOARD Interactive Display
Adult Basic Education students seeking their high school equivalency diploma will train with the new technology to improve their digital literacy and technology skills.
Electrical Maintenance Troubleshooting Training
The specialized training program will provide FVCC’s Advanced Manufacturing faculty and students with a new learning tool to properly troubleshoot problems on electrical and electronic circuits and motor controls.
Multimedia Lab for Exploring Electricity and Electronics
The hands-on specialized software program will allow up to 50 students in Advanced Manufacturing to create, test and safely repair circuits using multimedia screens, virtual instruments and sound and animation.
Promoting Botanical Literacy in the Community and the Classroom
Last summer, FVCC Associate Professor Dr. Mirabai McCarthy and botany students identified native plants for the Whitefish Trails system. The grant project will utilize the data collected to design and print a guide, which will be made available as an interpretive resource for life science educators, trail users and botany students.
Luminescent Gold Nanoparticles for the Detection of Toxic Metal Ions in Aquatic Ecosystems
FVCC’s Chemistry department will acquire a fluorometer to support student research projects and classroom lab experiments to monitor the levels of potentially toxic metal ions in local water and ocean water.
For more information on Enhancement Grants or the FVCC Foundation, contact Colleen Unterreiner at colleenu@fvcc.edu or 406-756-3914.