A new $100,000 grant soon will help Augustana College hire a sustainability interface manager tasked with helping mobilize Augustana’s students, faculty and staff to solve the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the Quad Cities region.
The $100,000 grant is funding the new position, which the Rock Island college said in a news release will bolster the community-based learning opportunities and transformational work of Augustana’s Upper Mississippi Center and the Center for the Advancement of Community Health and Wellness.
The full-time, two-year position will be a key leader in several of the centers’ ongoing projects. They include:
- A lead service lines identification project with the City of Rock Island.
- A sustainable watersheds project with the City of Davenport.
- An endangered species mapping project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- A low birth weight project with the Quad City Health Initiative.
The grant request was jointly written by Kimberly Murphy, associate professor of biology and director of the health and wellness center, and Michael Reisner, associate professor of environmental studies and director of the Upper Mississippi Center.
The grant is funded by Augustana College Trustee Christopher R. Coulter and his wife, Melanie Berna Coulter, both class of ’94 Augustana graduates.
Ms. Murphy called the interface manager a key addition to the collaborative work of both centers designed to help get the most benefit for students, faculty and community partners.
“This team member will provide additional organizational, leadership and communication skills to address complex community challenges,” she said. “Having this position will be crucial as we transform students into ethical, courageous servant leaders capable of tackling humanity’s most complex and daunting challenges.”
Mr. Reisner said the new role builds the capacity of both centers to engage with community partners and it will create opportunities for a more diverse group of students, particularly first-year and sophomore students. “These opportunities strengthen students’ sense of social and academic belonging, which is vital to their success at Augustana and beyond by creating lives of meaning in service to others,” he added.
In addition to managing day-to-day details of the centers’ initiatives, the sustainability interface manager will:
- Develop Residential Learning Experience programs within residence halls to find new ways to achieve student growth in high-impact experiences in center-related projects.
- Supervise and mentor student research assistants and interns.
- Communicate the research and achievements of the center to the public, community partners and academic partners.
