New Major Grants Received
Much of Columbia College Chicago’s most important work is made possible with the support of foundations, government entities, and corporations. Here are a few of the many new projects and programs that received critical support from our foundation, government, and corporate partners in the 2005 fiscal year:
Retention and Graduation Programs
From the U.S. Department of Education Title III, a $1.8 million, five-year grant to enhance the college’s retention and graduation rates. The grant objectives are to increase the fall-to-fall retention rate of students taking the First Year Foundations Seminar and to enhance student satisfaction with advising services.
High-Rise Crisis Simulation Training Game
From the U.S. Department of Defense, an $863,000 grant to the School of Media Arts in collaboration with the Chicago Fire Department to develop a video-game approach to emergency preparedness. The game, “H.E.L.P. High-Rise Evacuation Learning Platform,” takes the video-game industry beyond entertainment by simulating real-world environments and providing opportunities for trainees to gain real experience in moderated environments without suffering real-world consequences.
Endowed Entrepreneurship Professorship
From The Coleman Foundation, a three-year, $710,000 grant to endow the Coleman Professor in Arts Entrepreneurship and to support programming of the Arts Entrepreneurship Center housed in the arts, entertainment, and media management department.
Saturday Scholars & Community Partnerships
From the JP Morgan Chase Foundation (formerly the Bank One Foundation), an award of $450,000 to these two programs within the Center for Community Arts Partnerships.
Campus Lighting Upgrade
From the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, a grant of $250,000 to the campus environment department for a campus-wide lighting upgrade.
Chicago Bilingual Summer Mathematics Lab
From the Illinois Board of Higher Education, a grant of $212,500 to fund a teacher training program for Chicago Public School teachers using instruction in art and English as a second language to expand access to standards-based mathematics teaching and learning.
Center for Black Music Research
From the National Endowment for the Humanities, a $94,000 grant to preserve and archive important research collections from Eileen Southern, Dena Epstein, and Helen Walker-Hill. And from the Grammy Foundation, $19,500 to create digital files of 131 audio interviews with popular African-American musicians recorded in the 1960s and ’70s.
Multiple Program Grants
From the Illinois Arts Council, awards totaling $92,890 for the Center for Asian Arts and Media, the Center for Book and Paper Arts, the Center for Arts Policy, the Center for Black Music Research, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, DanceAfrica Chicago, the Dance Center, the Fiction Writing Department (Story Week), and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Program Support
From The Chicago Community Trust, grants totaling $80,000 to the Center for Black Music Research, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and the Dance Center.
