Enhancement Grants

Agora Enrichment Experience at the College Media Association National Convention

Applicant:  Dr. Matthew Bird-Meyer, Professor of Humanities

Award:  $1,500

As a small but growing program at MCCC, students have a limited number of options for journalism courses. The Agora newspaper helps overcome that by providing an outlet for hands-on instruction in storytelling, desktop publishing, multimedia production, circulation strategies, social media promotion and engagement, online publishing and website data analytics. Attending the National College Media Association Conference in New York City exponentially enriches each student’s learning experience. At the CMA conference, students network with their peers, professors and professionals from across the country – from Division I research schools to network television multimedia journalists. The students are introduced to cutting-edge technologies, equipment and techniques that professional journalists are testing and utilizing. During the trip, the students are encouraged to shoot video, take photos and blog, practicing what they’ve learned in the classroom and at the Agora while also experimenting with new techniques and technologies they are picking up along the way from the conference workshops.

Solar Umbrella

Applicant: Jack Burns, Director of Campus Planning and Facilities

Award: $2,000

Several years ago the Foundation supported an initiative of the Service Club (currently on hiatus) to encourage more social interaction among and between students and staff. An area of the centrally located ‘mall’ area of the campus near the Student Services/Administration building was designated to create such a gathering spot and a picnic table was purchased. As part of the College’s sustainability efforts, the table is composed of mostly, if not all, recycled and recyclable materials. In an effort to finish the installation and build on the Service Club’s intent to foster social interaction along with sensitivity to ongoing sustainability efforts, the addition of a Solar Umbrella has been identified as the next logical step. This umbrella would not only provide protection from the sun, but also feature a charging station for devices, powered by the sun. The Solar Umbrella will visibly mark the gathering spot and demonstrate MCCC’s continuing commitment to alternate energy by utilizing a non-carbon based and renewable energy source, the sun.

Livescribe Echo Pens

Applicant: Kris Gerlach, Disability Services Coordinator

Award: $3,000

Many students with disabilities or who are academically at-risk can benefit greatly from the use of Livescribe Echo pens. The pens and associated accessories enhance student’s notetaking skills and comprehension of audio lectures, offering students a level of independent support, which promotes student success and improved acquisition of lecture-based material land course mastery. The Live Scribe Echo pens would be available on loan to appropriately identified students and returned, the memory erased and reissued to new students in need of this assistive device. This will allow the pens to continually be used by other students, semester after semester for many years to come. There is currently a waiting list for a limited supply of pens. The purchase of 15 new pens would greatly diminish that waiting list and allow more students to benefit from this powerful learning tool.

Respiratory Therapy Student Teams at the MSRC Trivia Bowl Competition

Applicant: Dr. Ijaz Ahmed, Director of Respiratory Therapy

Award: $1,000

This funding will assist MCCC respiratory therapy students compete in the 2021 Michigan Society for Respiratory Care’s Sputum Bowl in conjunction with its annual meeting in Ann Arbor, MI.  Student teams compete in a college bowl trivia environment with buzzer system, time clock, moderator and judges. Participation in the Sputum Bowl benefits students by helping them develop a sense of connection to the larger professional community, build social bonds between classmates, and exposes students to state and national speakers. These are the types of activities that support the accreditation requirement to develop the “Affective Behavior” domain of learning prior to graduation. Attendance at the spring annual meeting has been a regular activity since the program began in 1981 and the MCCC teams competing in the Sputum Bowl have had great success through the years.

Shoah: How Was it Humanly Possible Exhibition

Applicant: Dr. Laura Manley, Director of Library

Award: $1,900     

The Library at MCCC will host “Shoah: How Was it Humanly Possible” exhibition from the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel January 11 – February 5, 2021. The exhibition deals with major historical aspects of the Holocaust. It begins with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ends with the liberation of Nazi concentration and extermination camps across the continent and the remarkable return to life of the survivors.The panels feature explanatory texts interspersed with victim's personal stories, quotes, original photographs, and images of relevant artifacts. MCCC students and staff, along with students in grades 8 -12 and the general public will be invited to experience the exhibit and other related learning events.

Michigan Nursing Student Association Convention

Applicant: Denise Robinson, Associate Professor of Nursing

Award: $1,350

Michigan Nursing Student Association (MNSA) annual convention is an educational conference for nursing students that provide them with the opportunity to learn clinical practice guidelines, leadership development, current legislative acts and efforts, and the power of collective advocacy to benefit public safety and the health care system.  With the many changes and uncertainties embedded within the health care system, it is essential that MCCC nursing graduates understand the importance of continuing education as well as the legislative process and obtain the knowledge and skills needed to be effective in political advocacy for patient safety within our community, state, and nation.  The MNSA conference offers a unique opportunity for students to see first-hand the value and power of patient advocacy and the nurse’s obligation to actively participate in lifelong learning and uphold patient safety for the community.

Pickleball Courts

Applicant: Barry Kinsey, Director of Workforce Development

Award: $750

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) 2016 Participant Report, there are more than 2.5 million pickleball participants in the United States. Pickleball is being introduced to kids and teenagers in physical education classes in middle and high schools. And though the sport has become more competitive through the years, many players enjoy the social aspects of the game and the ability to stay active in their own towns and communities. Monroe County has several outdoor pickleball courts that are heavily used during the warm weather months.  The community is lacking indoor courts for the cold weather months. The Welch Health Education Building Gymnasium presents an opportunity for creation of three indoor pickleball courts that will allow for growth of the sport for all ages and levels of ability for residents of Monroe County, including offering instruction through Lifelong Learning classes and open playing times.

VEX Robotics

Applicant: Michael Mohn, Coordinator

Award: $3,000

Team VIRUS, MCCC’s VEX Robotics Team, began with a core group desiring to be unique and novel from other competitive robotics groups. Being at Monroe County Community College (MCCC) made this possible. Today Team VIRUS is a true year-round, year-over-year student development program with teams at every level of VEX – elementary, middle and high school as well as collegiate. There are three underlying needs that are partially addressed in this initiative. First is the need for education to provide a year-over-year educational path that affects all ages and income brackets. Secondly, there is a need in the business world to close an existing skills gap, providing students and employers with a mutual compatibility. Thirdly, there is a need to expose the community to the offerings at MCCC with a specific impetus of the college’s mission to enrich lives in our community. This grant will specifically fund additional equipment needs to enhance MCCC VEX regional and state championship event hosting capabilities.

Art Collection Labeling Program

Applicant: Thomas Adamich, Professor, Reference-Technical Services

Award: $1,500

The MCCC Art Collection is an important resource from both the educational and art appreciation / aesthetic points of view.  The collection has been identified as the “largest collection of any college in Michigan outside universities with museums”.  It provides great benefit to both the MCCC Campus community and the local Monroe area / Southeast Michigan. Over 90% of the individual pieces of the art collection have little/no descriptive identification and few placards/signs to identify it as such.  The main goal of the MCCC Art Labeling Program is to establish an art description production and workflow process. By providing appropriate signage (in the form of an art work placard listing the title and the artist) to describe the collection as well as secure picture hangars for hanging pieces, Monroe County Community College has the potential to become an “art museum campus”.

Zingermans and Culinary Arts Experience

Applicant: Kevin Thomas, Instructor of Culinary Skills & Management

Award: $1,000

As MCCC’s new culinary arts offerings continue develop, a unique opportunity for students and faculty members to learn from some of the most renowned baking experts at Zingermans Bake House. The faculty and support staff at MCCC is limited in number. The ability to offer a class on a special subject that would be taught by an expert on that particular subject would expose the culinary students to a unique learning opportunity. The grant will provide faculty with the opportunity to build lesson plans and provide hands-on learning experiences based on specialty courses available at ZBH. Students will travel to classes at ZBH and then apply the skills they learn in the kitchens at MCCC.

CNC Manufacturing Cameras

Applicant: Troy Elliot, Assistant Professor of Product and Process Technology

Award: $3,000

Cameras for the CNC Machining Centers Cameras for the CNC machining centers will enrich the educational experience in the Manufacturing Technology Program, (formerly Product and Process Technology) by creating a learning experience using the latest technology in industry. Video transmission over the Internet is finding more widespread use in machine shops. As CNC machining centers become more and more cumbersome with enclosures, interlocks, windows becoming scratched, and tools being flooded with coolant, one of the biggest complaints is being able to see what's going on at the spindle. Having a camera will allow the students to see the setup and movement of the machine up close, from inside the machining center, once the chips and coolant start to fly. Fully sealed against chips and coolant in an aluminum enclosure, the camera is completely protected to ensure reliable and long-term operation having a continuing effect on the Manufacturing Technology Program.