Grant Announcements

Three religious studies faculty members at App State are engaged in a grant-funded project to envision a public-focused future for religious studies teaching and scholarship — one that explores the relationship of religion to topics at the center of public conversation and debate.

Dr. Mark Spond, App State’s liaison to the National Park Service (NPS), was awarded NPS funding to conduct studies of bats along North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway — data from which will help expand NPS knowledge of the area’s rare bat species and those affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fatal fungal disease.

Nearly 750 App State students were treated to a sweet reminder to vote, along with voter information, as part of “Doughnut Forget to Vote” — a nonpartisan voter education and mobilization event held Oct. 22 on App State’s campus.

For more than 30 years, App State’s Parent to Parent Family Support Network-High Country has supported High Country families with special needs children — work made possible by donations and external grant funding. Read on to learn about the organization’s $73,000-plus in grant support for 2019–20.

The National Science Foundation has awarded Appalachian $995,509 in grant funding to implement ADVANCE APPALACHIAN — a program designed to support and advance the careers of Appalachian faculty who are women in STEM disciplines. The program will be implemented over the next three academic years.

Thanks to continued federal funding, marriage and family therapy and mental health counseling interns at Appalachian are helping to increase the availability of culturally sensitive behavioral health services for residents of Northwestern North Carolina. The four-year project has received $1.75 million-plus in support.

Appalachian’s Dr. Jaewon Oh has collaborated with members of Arizona State University’s Photovoltaic Reliability Laboratory to analyze the soiling loss — or power loss due to dirt, dust and other particles — of six PV power plants across the U.S., including one in North Carolina.

Appalachian assistant professor Dr. Sonja Ardoin has received grant funding from American College Personnel Association (ACPA)-College Student Educators International for her proposed study to explore how social class and classism in higher education influence the experiences of administrators and faculty.

Through the grant, the Child Development Center is partnering with Appalachian’s Department of Family and Child Studies to offer expanded services that include a new home visitation program and increased availability of infant and toddler care.