Grant Funding Secured under President Grant's Leadership

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has had much success in securing grant funding to support its programs and strategic plan. Proposals have been funded by:

Federal Grants: The US government, including The Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities

State Grants: Many Massachusetts departments including Elementary and Secondary Education; Higher Education; Adult and Community Learning Services; Math, Science, Technology, and Engineering; Massachusetts Cultural Council

Private Grants: Many foundations, including the Davis Foundation, the Berkshire Life Foundation, the Taconic Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Nellie Mae Foundation

Recent Grants

MA Dept of Higher Education Grants: In FY 2012, MCLA was awarded a $150,000 Performance Incentive Grant to support campus based academic support initiatives. Other MA Department of Education grants include: $12,000 under the Advancing a Massachusetts Culture of Assessment (AMCOA) initiative which links assessment to learning and focuses on advancing student writing; $104,000 as part of a collaboration with Berkshire Community College for the College Access Challenge Grant to support awareness, enrollment, and success of Berkshire County students in higher education; $32,000 by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to support the College's dual enrollment program; and $250,128 over three years of Title IIB funding from DESE for the Berkshire Math Science Partnership to support professional development of middle school (STEM) teachers.

Cultural and Foundation Grants: The College was awarded $32,000 by the Massachusetts Cultural Council for the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) to help support and grow the creative economy of Berkshire County; $2,000 from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for the Wee Read Program which provides books to families with young children in Berkshire County to promote the joy and habit of early reading; and $46,200 over two years from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the Division III Internship Grant through which the College will provide a paid internship for an ethnic minority or woman in its Athletic Department. 

2006-2010 Grants

Student Support Services (SSS) grant for $1,452,580 for FY 2010-2014. The US Department of Education Title IV SSS grant funds the College's Individual Enrichment Program whose objective is to provide academic support and specialized advising designed to increase the persistence, academic achievement, and graduate rates of participating students who are first generation, low income, or students with disabilities. This award supports MCLA's SSS program which, since 1980, has had notable success in providing students with the network of support to be successful college students and campus leaders.

Title III "Strenthening Institutions" grant for 2006-2010, totaling $1.8 million over five years, the largest grant in the College's history. This initiative was designed to support increased implementation of technology throughout campus, development of new academic programs, faculty development, and other endeavors.

In fall 2006, President Grant announced a $1 million pledge in private monies to fund endowed professorships in the education department.

In 2005, in cooperation with MCLA's Environmental Studies program, the College secured $160,000 in federal funds to spearhead the Berkshire Environmental Resource Center (BERC). In 2008, MCLA was awarded another $239,000 in federal funds to continue BERC initiatives. 

President Grant also has worked to strengthen community and public school collaborations throughout the Berkshires, leading to the College's being awarded more than $500,000 in new grants to help sustain these partnerships - an important and unprecedented step for MCLA. Many of these new resources are being used to advance science, math, and technology.

Other grants funded under Dr. Grant's leadership include those from the following organizations:

• Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Pipeline fund for STEM initiatives in Berkshire County
• Nellie Mae Foundation for Berkshire Compact for Higher Education research initiatives
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in support of African American curriculum development
• Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) in support of the Berkshire County Resource Council at MCLA Gallery 51
• Davis Educational Foundation for faculty support in academic technology
• Rep. John W. Olver's Northern Tier Inititative, federal appropriation for Environmental Studies
• Massachusetts Department of Education Title IIB grants to support professional development opportunities for math and science teachers
• Research Corporation's Cottrell College Science Awards Program to support a faculty member's participation in a national research project at Fermilab in Illinois
• Academic and Technology Infrastructure Enhancement as a Foundation for Professional and Curricular Development