Syracuse University announced on Monday that a new grants program with $20,000 in funding has been launched in an effort to improve accessibility on campus.

The program seeks to support diversity programs and practices that deepen “understanding and engagement across multiple areas of difference, including racial, ethnic, religious, disability, nationality and veteran status,” according to an SU News release published Monday.

Proposals for the program will be evaluated and developed during the upcoming spring and summer and the program is expected to be piloted in the 2018-19 academic year, according to the news release.

The plan will allocate $20,000 toward grant proposals, with the typical proposal receiving $5,000 or less, per the release. Grants will support “planning, implementing and evaluating high-impact practices.”

Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly, in the news release, said the program supports a key priority of the Academic Strategic Plan, “which is to enhance and sustain an inclusive, accessible campus of opportunity for a richly diverse student body.”

For the most part, grant proposals will address undergraduate students, but programs that engage graduate students may also be considered, according to the release.

Grant proposals are due by March 19 at 5 p.m. According to the release, each proposal has to explain the target student audience “that will be involved and why it would be best served through the proposed high-impact practice.”

Proposals that support training and professional development of faculty and staff who engage with students will be considered as well, according to the news release.

“Diversity and inclusion are core values of the University, and they are essential components of an outstanding academic experience,” Wheatly said in the news release. “Our hope and expectation is that this grant will help generate creative ideas and identify high-impact practices that can really advance our goals in this area.”

Published on February 12, 2018 at 7:56 pm