Funders' Council

Newsletter

Volume 17 Fall 2010

United Stated Department of Education awards $1,191,030 to Student Support Services

USD Institute of College Initiatives (ICI) Director Cynthia Villis and Director for Student Support Services (SSS) Sara Boquin program received a new five-year award for $1,191,030 from the United States Department of Education. This award was particularly difficult to achieve: funding involved a competition that was challenging as proposals increased while total available funds for all TRIO programs decreased.

Funding provides students with the opportunity for academic development, assists with basic college requirements, and serves to motivate undergraduate students toward successful completion of their postsecondary education. The funding goals are to increase the college retention and graduation rates and to help students make the transition from one level of higher education to the next.

Community Service-Learning Granted $50,000 from California Campus Compact

Chris Nayve, Director for the Center for Community Service-Learning, and Dr. Steve Conroy, Economics, received continuation funding for their second year of a grant funded by California Campus Compact. The grant will catalyze California colleges and universities to aid in the State’s recovery and renewal through service, service-learning and inventive solutions embedded in social entrepreneurship, microfinance and social investment. In partnership with the San Diego Microfinance Alliance, USD will collaborate with local microfinance institutions, agencies, schools, and universities to increase the scale of microfinance education, awareness, and support in the San Diego region.

Dr. Seuss Foundation Supports USD with $5,000

The Dr. Seuss Foundation donated $5,000 to the USD general fund. The Foundation has supported various projects and events on campus since 1999.

T.E.L. Foundation Awards $29,000 to Founders Chapel

T.E.L. Foundation’s gift of $29,000 to Founders Chapel will purchase a new van and fund a USD retreat. The van will provide transportation to weekly service venues including Fr. Joe’s Village, St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen, Interfaith Shelter Network, Students for Life service outreach, Tijuana ministry outreach and other USD retreats. The foundation supports the Men@USD Retreat, now in its third year, which invites male students to focus on their lives, relationships and faith.

Desert Community Foundation Awards $10,000 to Women’s Volleyball

The Desert Community Foundation continues their support of the USD Volleyball team with a gift of $10,000. The foundation began their giving to USD in 2007 with input from parent Mark McClure.

Bannister Hall Fund Awards $5,000 to Athletics

The Bannister Hall Fund at the San Diego Foundation gave $5,000 to Athletics. This is the family fund of Trustee Bill Geppert and wife Amy Geppert.

McNamara Purcell Foundation Awards $5,000 to Athletics

The McNamara Purcell Foundation awarded $5,000 to the general athletic fund. The Foundation has been supporting USD for 10 years.

Marine and Environmental Studies Granted $979,659 from NSF

Michel Boudrias, PI, with Co-PI’s Scott Anders, Nilmini Silva-Send and John Yin, will direct this two-year project “Climate Science Meets Social Psychology and Strategic Communications: Applying proven learning and communications strategies to climate literacy in the San Diego Region.”

The project goals include the creation of a comprehensive, diverse partnership of experts to develop and implement a strategic communications framework related to climate science, mitigation, and adaptation; will assess the current climate change knowledge base available in our region; and create a dialogue about climate change with key thought and opinion leaders and trendsetters, develop messages and communication methods for target audiences, and identify the most effective for each group and for the general population as a whole. USD was the only university in California to receive this NSF award.

$50,000 Awarded Biology by State of California Parks and Recreation

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (CRSP) in Julian will be the site of an investigation by Lisa Baird and Paul Kemp to assess the contribution of Ceanothus to the soil fertility and nitrogen fixation at the site recovery of the burned conifer stands at CRSP following the Cedar fire of 2003. This two-year study is intended to provide guidance to the Cuyamaca Reforestation Project.

American Chemical Society (ACS), Petroleum Research Fund (PRF)
Awards $50,000 to Chemistry

The American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund supports Clare Boothe Luce Professor Lauren Benz, Chemistry, in her research of “The Role of Defects in Sulfur removal over Titanium Dioxide.” Restrictions on the sulfur content of fuels are tightening while supplies of light-weight fuels diminish. As a result better catalytic methods for sulfur removal will be required. Lauren anticipates that her research will provide information that will impact the design of future catalysts.

NOAA Grants $49,999 to Marine Science

Sarah Gray, Marine Science and Environmental Studies, is once again awarded funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): General Coral Reef Conservation Program (GCRCP) which has supported Sara’s ongoing studies since 2008 in St. John, US Virgin Islands. The award of $49,999 is for her 18-month study, “A comparative analysis of sedimentation and water quality in mangrove, shore, and reef environments below a developed vs. an undeveloped watershed in the US Virgin Islands.” In the US Virgin Islands, sediment constitutes the largest pollutant of coastal waters by volume and is thought to be the primary cause of coral reef degradation. This funding allows monitoring of Coral and Lameshur Bays integrating additional environmental data.

Simovich Receives $10,378 Contract from USGS

A contract for $10,378 has been issued to Dr. Marie Simovich, Biology, to isolate cysts of endangered fairy shrimp from vernal pool soil samples for a genetic study. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth, manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life

The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation Funds Research Fellowship for Philosophy

Matt Zwolinski, Philosophy, has been awarded $9,320 from the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation for the 2010-2011 academic year. The funds will support an undergraduate research fellowship, the existing undergraduate reading group and faculty member release time to mentor the participating students.

Blasker-Rose-Miah Funds $53,250 for EPIC’s Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Model

The Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC) received a grant from The San Diego Foundation's Blasker-Rose-Miah Fund to develop a greenhouse gas mitigation model. In September 2008, EPIC released a study that estimated the San Diego region’s greenhouse gas emissions and analyzed strategies to reduce them to 1990 levels by 2020. According to Scott Anders and Rick Olsen, this study will assess policy options based on their potential to reduce greenhouse gases, cost and time to implement, and experience by other jurisdictions.

The goal is to develop an interactive decision making tool to identify scenarios of policy measures that could meet near-term (2020) and medium-term (2035) emissions targets and estimate the implementation costs associated with the most significant strategies.

Legal Clinics Receive Continued Funding from The State Bar of California

According to Director Margaret Dalton, the USD Legal Clinics have a two-fold mission: to provide free legal services to disadvantaged and under-served lower-income San Diegans, helping them deal with everything from landlord disputes to small claims filings; and to train law students in the practical and ethical practice of law.

Toward this mission, the State Bar of California Legal Services Trust Fund Program, Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) continues to support the services of the Legal Clinic with a $56,862 grant for 2010-2011 as does the State Bar of California Equal Access Fund (EAF) with $86,204 in support for 2010-2011.

EPIC receives $15,000 contract from the City of Carlsbad

Director Scott Anders, Energy Policy Initiative Center, has contracted with the City of Carlsbad to provide technical expertise on a variety of energy topics, will provide meeting support when the content is energy related, and be available for a variety of activities as requested by the City.

USD and SDSU Renew $3,529 Contract with Administrative Hearing Program

The School of Law’s Administrative Hearing Program, under the direction of Agustin F. Lopez II, Esq. and Associate Director Marc G. Camin, provides in a neutral forum, administrative hearings for individuals who contest parking violation citations issued by San Diego State University. The twin goals of the program are to provide a fair and unbiased environment for the individuals of SDSU while providing a real world learning experience for USD law students as they interview the witnesses and weigh witness credibility, assign weight to any evidence presented, and make the final written decisions.

James Irvine Foundation Approves $800,000 for the SOLES ELDA Linked Learning

Thanks to the support from the James Irvine Foundation, Linda “Rose” Martinez, Educational Leadership Development Academy, will be involved in establishing context-specific leadership and change management skills of selected principals in Linked Learning high schools.

Professional development will include summer institutes, web-based professional development sessions and one-on-one coaching sessions; tool development for assessing and measuring progress of participating principals; and research development analyzing the building-level legal and policy issues related to Linked Learning implementation and sharing those findings to strengthen the understanding of the rules and regulations that inform principals’ work.

The Linked Learning Alliance is a statewide coalition of more than 140 education, industry, and community organizations and individuals dedicated to improving California’s high schools and preparing students for postsecondary education and career, both options and not just one or the other.

Cajon Valley Union School District Funds SOLES CEPAL for $99,500

Director Scott Himelstein, and Frank Kemerer, SOLES Center for Education Policy and Law (CEPAL) are the recipients of an 18-month, $99,500 contract from the Cajon Valley Union School District to perform a CATS Program Evaluation. Cajon Valley operates this program with the goal of improving student achievement and character development at Lexington School and Cajon Valley Middle School.

San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Contracts with SOLES for $85,000

Heather Lattimer, SOLES, is under contract with the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools (County) to participate in the History in the Schools (HITS) program. The Program is funded by the Teaching American History grant program supported by the U.S. Department of Education.

Its purpose is to improve content knowledge among teachers, but also to focus on effective strategies to integrate and differentiate instruction so all students have access to the history curriculum. Heather will participate in planning meetings, facilitate up to 20 Learning Study Sessions for teachers; Summer Institute and some meeting space will be provided by USD facilities.

County of San Diego awards $20,000 to support Speaker Series

Director Melinda Martin, Educational Leadership Development Academy (ELDA) was awarded $20,000 from the County of San Diego, County Supervisor Ron Roberts, to help sponsor the annual “Spotlight on Education: A Speaker Series.”

The goal of the Speaker Series is to provide educators in San Diego County the resources and information to equip students with 21st century skills by featuring a variety of eminent speakers and practitioners. The focus is on Transforming Education: Digital Learning, Creativity and Student Engagement.

Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philantropic Research Receives $301,000

The mission of the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research is to study issues of strategic importance to the nonprofit sector and to identify and advance best practices in research and evaluation methods. The Center provides research, evaluation, and consulting services that build the leadership and strategic and evaluative thinking capacity of local nonprofits, as well as serves as the leading source of information, data, and research on the local nonprofit sector. Director Laura Deitrick reports multiple gifts and one contract:

Caster Family Fund: $200,000
Bank of America: $25,000
Westreich Foundation: $50,000
Price Family Charitable Fund: $10,000
United Way of San Diego County: $16,000 (research contract)

San Diego Foundation Awards $9,000 to Scholarships

The San Diego Foundation awarded $9,000 to the Nonprofit Leadership and Management Graduate Program Scholarship Fund.

HRSA Awards $1,258,959 for Loans and Scholarships

Dean Sally Hardin announced an award of $1,168,550 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nurse Faculty Loan Program for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Doctoral students that complete the education component necessary to prepare them as nurse faculty are qualified to apply. Up to 85% of the principal and interest of the Nurse Faculty Loan may be forgiven when a doctoral graduate moves into a full-time faculty position in a school of nursing and continues that employment for a required period of time.

The Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships from HRSA are awarded to eligible institutions to provide financial support through traineeships for registered nurses enrolled in advanced education nursing programs to prepare nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse administrators, nurse educators, and nurses in other specialties requiring advanced education. The 2010-2011 year award is $80,543.

In addition, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS), as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), awards $4,037 in funding for 2010-2011. Also awarded by HRSA is $5,829 in non-ARRA funds for the same period for a total of $9,866 available for scholarships.

County of San Diego Awards $40,000 to Nursing

The County of San Diego award $40,000 to the School of Nursing. Since 2003, the County has granted a total of $215,000 to purchase medical equipment and supplies, nursing lab furnishings, and computer software to consistently upgrade the School's Simulation and Standardized Patient Nursing Laboratory.

The Kaul Foundation Awards $10,000 to KSPS

The Kaul Foundation, at the discretion of Trustee John Holcomb, has donated $10,000 to the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies Deans Discretionary Fund.

TBI Receives $200,000 from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Generous support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation since 2005 has enabled the Trans-Border Institute to establish a strong foundation for the Justice in Mexico Project, which works to analyze and promote efforts to strengthen judicial sector institutions, improve transparency, and increase access to justice in Mexico. According to Director David Shirk, along with continuing this effort, this new two-year award will expand the current efforts to develop useful measures of judicial system performance; monitor human rights violations; and address problems of transparency caused by violence against Mexican journalists.

The Foundation to Promote Open Society, Open Society Institute Awards TBI $60,000

The Trans-Border Institute will conduct a Justiciabarómetro survey of approximately 2,500 law enforcement personnel and an independent, qualitative evaluation of local public security challenges.

This 7-month project, will focus on the municipal police department in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. This project builds upon a former research initiative that involved six municipalities in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area.

In 2009, TBI’s Justice in Mexico Project released the results of a groundbreaking survey titled Justiciabarómetro: Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara, which was developed in collaboration with the Center for Innovation and Governance at the University of Guadalajara (UdG) and the Western Technical Institute for Higher Learning (ITESO). Implemented by Data Opinión Pública y Mercados (DATA-OPM), it represents the largest independent study of a police force ever published in Mexico. Focusing on the Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara (ZMG), one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, this study surveyed nearly 80% of the 6,873 municipal police officers currently serving the more than 4 million inhabitants of the ZMG.

Due to its magnitude, breadth of inquiry, and high level of participation, this study makes a noteworthy contribution to the study of public security issues in Mexico. TBI provides policy analysis and recommendations concerning the rule of law in Mexico.

The Foundation to Promote Open Society (FPOS) Supports Women PeaceMakers Conference with $25,000

FPOS in collaboration with the Open Society Institute (OSI) awarded $25,000 to the Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ) Women PeaceMakers conference Precarious Progress: U.N. Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security.

According to Deputy Director Dee Aker, practitioners and policymakers of all levels reflected on the implementation and challenges of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) on women, peace and security (1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889) and analyzed their practical considerations.

Working sessions addressed the need to counter cultures of impunity; advance security sector reform; engender all dimensions of conflict prevention, peacebuilding and recovery; as well as promote strategies that combat violent extremism.

In particular, Precarious Progress was a venue for policymakers and practitioners to discuss recent pledges made by member states and ways in which U.N. bodies, member states and civil society are mobilizing to improve the monitoring and implementation of UNSCRs as they affect women, peace and security.

IPJ Receives $5,000 from The World Federalist Movement-Institute
for Global Policy (WFM-IGP)

In addition to this contribution by WFM-IGP to help subsidize the 2010 Women PeaceMakers Conference, The International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRToP) housed at WFM-IGP served as a co-convener of the conference and facilitated a working session on the “Responsibility to Protect” norm as well as the role of civil society in advancing the norm.