Over the summer, four grant awards were announced to APU, which added up to a little over 3.4 million dollars.
“These awards illustrate the high degree of trust that external funding agencies place in APU,” Executive Director of Research and Grants Dr. Donald Isaak said. “The awards also speak to the quality of APU faculty and staff who were able to secure funding during a time when competition for additional resources is very high.”
The four grants come from four different organizations. One is a private funding source, while the other three are from federal government programs. Even though these awards were announced this summer, the funds were not immediately received or sent all at once.
“Each of the projects is multi-year, most being over three years and one over five years,” Isaak said. “The funds will be provided to APU over time as the projects move forward.”
Provost Dr. Mark Stanton addressed APU faculty this summer, informing them of the details.
The Freeman Foundation, a private funding source, will award APU’s School of Business and Management China Study Abroad Program $400,000 over two years. This grant will allow a greater amount of scholarships to help APU students take part in the study-abroad program. The number of students allowed to participate will double in size.
“The Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Training Initiative among Allied Health Professional Disciplines at Faith-Based Colleges proposal was awarded $935,831 over three years by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the Department of Health and Human Services,” Stanton added.
This proposal will include a partnership with UCLA, multiple Christian institutions and the LA County Department of Mental Health Services.
According to an excerpt of the grant proposal written by Dr. Rachel Castaneda, the goal for the team is to “enhance the curriculum of psychology, nursing and social work disciplines within faith-based universities to equip professional students with the necessary skills to implement evidence-based SBIRT strategies for patients at risk for substance-use disorders, thereby expanding the leadership of the allied health professional workforce from faith-based institutions.”
The U.S. Department of Education awarded the proposal for The Target Success: TRIO Student Support Services at $1,100,000 over five years.
“This extremely competitive award provides APU the ability to enhance support for underrepresented students. This grant is supposed to help strengthen academics through ‘academic success coaching and other interventions,’ Stanton said. “Coaching and other interventions will “aim to strengthen the academic mindset and behavior, self-regulation, social and emotional skills and career development of participants.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded the APU School of Nursing $987,525 for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP).
“This is a highly competitive grant program,” Stanton explained. “It is awarded only to accredited nursing schools offering educator coursework in advanced education nursing degree programs that prepare graduate students for careers in teaching nursing.”
This grant was given to the NFLP to provide more loans to students studying in APU’s School of Nursing. The hope is to provide necessary loans to registered nursing students while they are working to complete their graduate education and become certified nurse faculty. This grant also enables students pursuing their Ph.D. and Doctor of Nursing Practice to obtain loans.
“I am especially interested in the grant that was given to the business and management program because that directly affects other students and me interested in the study abroad program,” said junior business management major Abby Wentzien.