IDHS Grant Leads to Two New CRSS Success Program Cohorts

Joliet, Ill. – Thanks to another grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) Success program at the University of St. Francis (USF) will continue to provide full tuition and wrap-around supports for students who complete its high-quality, recovery support training and supervised practical experience.

USF’s CRSS program, which launched in fall 2022 with an initial cohort of 19 students, will welcome two new cohorts this coming academic year (up to 20 students each in fall 2024 and spring 2025). The program trains individuals with lived experience of mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use recovery to leverage their experience to support others facing these challenges. Tuition is free for accepted applicants through June 2025 through the support of over $1.14 million in state grant funding from the IDHS Division of Mental Health.

“Students who have successfully completed the CRSS Success Program at USF have been gainfully employed in the field of behavioral health in a variety of settings, including substance use treatment, community mental health, and other non-profit settings. Training experience both in the classroom and the field practicum prepares students to share their lived experience in a way that promotes hope and change in those they serve, advocates for diverse and marginalized populations, assists in increased access to care/treatment, and reduces stigma around mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders,” said Patricia Ferdon, MSW, LCSW, CCTP, CRSS Teaching Instructor and Internship Coordinator.

For more information on the program, including how to apply for fall registration, visit stfrancis.edu/crss or contact Marcia Van Natta, MHS, BA, CADC, CODP II, CRSS Project Director and Instructor at mvannatta@stfrancis.edu or 815-740-3779. Student applications for the fall 2024 cohort are due by Friday, August 2, 2024. Applications received after this date will be added to a wait list for the spring 2025 semester.

About the CRSS Program

The CRSS program, now in its third year, is housed within the USF Psychology department along with USF’s Substance Abuse Counseling (SAC) program. The SAC program, an addiction treatment program, received full accreditation from the Illinois Certification Board (ICB) in November 2015. In 2023, USF was awarded a $125,000 subgrant through ICB’s Certified Alcohol and other Drug Counselor (CADC) Workforce Expansion Program to provide tuition and wraparound supports to students in the SAC program working towards CADC certification. USF’s CADC program is modeled after its successful CRSS Success program; both of these grants provide financial support to USF students as they work towards CRSS or CADC certification.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 3,300 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

Alamo-Costello Earns Grant to Fund Photography Project

Joliet, Ill. – Michael “Chester” Alamo-Costello, MFA, professor of art and design at the University of St. Francis (USF), has received a $6,000 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs to photograph in Southwest China over the next year. The grant will cover travel and project costs while Alamo-Costello is in China.

“The plan is to photograph faculty, students and staff at Sichuan University of Science and Engineering (SUSE) in the same format as that procured at USF since 2000, while also working with individuals at SUSE on writings on their teaching philosophies and practices,” Alamo-Costello said.

“I have worked with faculty and staff at USF in a similar format in recent time. Initially, I intended to create a USF portrait book. Now, my focus has shifted to contrast the photographs and writings from the two institutions to illustrate their differences and similarities. I’ve discussed putting this into book form with SUSE/USF personnel in the future. There are feelings that this approach will offer a deeper understanding of education approaches in the 21st century,” he added.

For a glimpse of Alamo-Costello’s work as part of this project, visit alamo-costello.com/documents-visual-archeology/sichuanchina.

About the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

According to its website, the mission of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is “to enrich Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. To support this overarching mission, the Cultural Grants Program’s goal is simple: to serve as a catalyst to foster a robust, healthy arts community where artists, nonprofit arts and culture organizations and creative industries thrive. Designed to reach artists, creatives, and nonprofit arts and culture organizations across Chicago, DCASE Cultural Grants provide operating funds and project support for nonprofits and project specific funding for individual artists.”

For more information on DCASE, visit www.chicagoculturalgrants.org.

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University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

USF Small Business Accelerator to Host Free Screening of Show Her The Money on March 18

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) College of Business and Health Administration’s Small Business Accelerator will host a free screening of the film Show Her The Money on Monday, March 18, 2024. The screening will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will take place in the USF Moser Performing Arts Center (500 Wilcox Street, Joliet, IL 60435).

Show Her The Money addresses how women are getting less than 2% of venture capital funding and demystifies what venture capital is. Join USF for a screening of the film, followed by a conversation with the film’s award-winning director Ky Dickens, who will discuss what is changing to help women overcome funding challenges.

“This is the first screening of this film in Illinois. We hope to attract a diverse, regional audience to this event, including female entrepreneurs of all ages and those interested in investing in female entrepreneurs,” said Shannon Brown, Ph.D., dean of the USF College of Business and Health Administration.

Seating is limited. Please reserve your free ticket and access other event information at https://kinema.com/events/show-her-the-money-hskmgg. Parking is free and complimentary food, beverages, and popcorn will be available. If you have additional questions, please contact Kari Jimenez in the USF College of Business and Health Administration at KJimenez@stfrancis.edu or 815-740-3395.

This event is funded in part through a Grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

About Show Her the Money

Show Her The Money is a story that has never been told. Featuring rock-star female investors who invest in diverse women entrepreneurs with innovations that will change the world, Show Her The Money reminds us that money is power and women need it to achieve true equality. Show Her The Money was directed by Ky Dickens and produced by Ky Dickens and Catherine Gray with Executive Producers Catherine Gray, Dawn Lafreeda, Sharon Gless, Diana Greshtchuk and Wendy Ryan. For more information on the film, visit showherthemoneymovie.com.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

USF Earns Hispanic-Serving Institution Designation and Grant Worth Close to $3M

Joliet, Ill. – Earlier this year, the University of St. Francis (USF) earned the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation by the U.S. Department of Education for having an undergraduate full-time equivalent student population that is comprised of at least 25 percent Hispanic students. With that designation, USF was able to apply for and has since been awarded Title V Developing HSIs (DHSI) funding in the form of a grant worth close to $3M over 5 years. The grant will now largely fund a DHSI project titled “Going from Si se Puede to Si se Pudo,” (translated to English as “Going from ‘We Can Do It’ to ‘We Did Do It’ “) designed to support capacity enhancements and innovative strategies to significantly increase retention and graduation rates for all students, and especially those who are Hispanic, from low-income households, or otherwise underserved.

Specifically, 90% of DHSI program costs (totaling $2,996,731) are financed with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education, while 10% of DHSI program costs (totaling $340,000) are financed by USF.

The overarching DHSI goal of the project is to transform how the institution engages with current and future students to improve retention over the five-year project period. The project will serve USF’s more than 1,200 undergraduate students, 30% of whom are Hispanic, 40% of whom are Pell-eligible/ low-income, and 64% of whom are first-generation college students.

USF is now in the infancy stages of working to achieve the project goal by spring of 2028 through efforts focused on three institutional objectives, including: increasing retention of full-time, first year (FTFY) students to 80% by redesigning instructional support programming; increasing Latinx students’ 6-year graduation rate to 60%; and increasing the 6-year graduation rate for all students to 66%.

The University plans to achieve the objectives through the following activities that have been designed to strengthen academic programs, improve institutional management, and increase fiscal stability:

Strengthen the first-year experience program to support all incoming students from orientation through sophomore retention by hiring a retention specialist, redesigning the required Foundations 1 first-year seminar, implementing an annual two-day faculty training institute for seminar instructors, offering free summer remedial math courses, and providing peer mentoring for incoming students;
Increase support for Latinx undergraduates by hiring a community outreach and relations coordinator to build partnerships, adding a bilingual academic coach and bilingual academic advisor, holding bilingual parent and family outreach events, expanding the availability of bilingual, culturally responsive campus ministry programming, offering a Spanish Language for Professionals course for faculty and staff, and translating admissions and financial aid materials into Spanish;
Integrate multicultural/culturally responsive curricula across academic areas by providing professional development and faculty support for course revisions, and developing new courses on Hispanic cultural, historic, literary, and political issues; and providing a co-curricular tracking app for the USF campus community to engage in HSI-affirming events and activities;
Expand developmental on-campus employment opportunities for low-income undergraduates and support them with an endowment; and
Create an on-campus commuter lounge.

“The Title V DHSI award will allow USF to implement programs that will benefit all students, from revising the first-year seminar to enhancing cultural understanding in the curriculum. The goal is to increase retention and completion, so that more students have access to a USF degree,” said Beth Roth, USF Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

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University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

Leach College of Nursing Receives Grant Funding, Including $1.35M through ANEW

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) Leach College of Nursing (LCON) was recently notified it was approved for another Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant will award the university approximately $1.35M over four years to help increase access to quality health and behavioral health care for underserved and rural areas in Illinois—especially in Will, Grundy and Cook counties.

The project will build upon USF’s previous ANEW grant and will support the training and graduation of Family Nurse Practitioners and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners who will practice in underserved areas.

“The continuing ANEW project is designed to sustainably train a workforce capable of addressing urgent health and behavioral health needs. Our FNP and PMHNP curricula are designed using national standards for best practices in online instruction, and USF has strong relationships with local sites for experiential training. Also, USF has created an alternative model, which is to establish strong working relationships with partners to improve health and behavioral healthcare access in the service area in Illinois and Wisconsin. Continuing the project will allow USF to develop a pipeline of preceptors to better serve our FNP and PMHNP students and the public,” said USF LCON dean Yeijin Yeom, Ph.D., RN, CNE.

Additionally, LCON was awarded a $100,000 Nursing School Grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education. The grant will be used to address equity gaps in enrollment and course completion for USF Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and BSN Completion students, of which approximately half are African American, Latinx, low-income, first-generation, from rural communities, and/or working adults. With the grant funding, LCON will purchase equipment, including a medication dispensing system and simulation cart, and increase 24 additional hours per week of simulation labs for BSN students in order to accommodate working students. They will also offer remediation on evenings and weekends to reinforce preparation our students for clinical practice. LCON expects an increase of the retention rate of students. As a result, highly competent and well-prepared students maximize their employment opportunities while benefitting patients in Illinois.

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University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF News

USF to Create New Small Business Accelerator through $500,000 Federal Grant

Joliet, Ill. – For over eight years, the University of St. Francis (USF) Business Incubator has supported the economic development of the Will County region by fostering new business development. Now through a $500,000 U.S. Small Business Administration FY23 Congressional Community Project Grant supported by U.S. Congressman Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Joliet’s university will create a new USF Small Business Accelerator (fully funded by the grant) to specifically benefit small businesses in underserved categories in its ongoing efforts to build the region’s business landscape.

“The USF Small Business Accelerator will provide equity-free accelerator funds and mentorship to businesses and entrepreneurs in underserved categories to promote economic development and job creation, build mentorship relationships in a formal manner to promote future informal mentoring and possible future business partnerships, and integrate senior executives as mentors for entrepreneurs and infuse entrepreneurial thinking into co-curricular activities to promote future economic development,” said Bonnie Covelli, Ed.D., associate professor in the USF College of Business and Health Administration and funding request author.

Covelli added that the USF Small Business Accelerator, which will primarily be located in the USF Business Incubator area on the University’s St. Bonaventure Campus in downtown Joliet, will also provide members with a variety of benefits, including funding, mentorship, training, access to a regional business incubator, and networking opportunities, as well as curricular and co-curricular programming for founders to expand their business knowledge.

According to Shannon Brown, Ph.D., dean of the USF College of Business and Health Administration, USF sees this new project positively impacting the community, as well.

“While this project’s focus is on benefitting small businesses in underserved categories, it will also create positive outcomes for the community, including community-based programming, a speaker series on the resources and benefits available to businesses and entrepreneurs in the region, an offering of support to current and future small businesses in the region, and access to digital and wood shop maker-space equipment relevant to business needs,” Brown said.

Brown added that USF students will also benefit from the new project.

“The Small Business Accelerator encourages entrepreneurial economic development in the region and supports the diverse demographics of our area and our student body. Over 50% of our student body now reports as non-white, and the census data on the demographics in Joliet, Illinois and Will County, Illinois demonstrates growing diversity. USF has also recently been recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), which is defined as a not-for-profit institution of higher learning with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic. Therefore, it is important to note that this project will also create experiential learning opportunities for USF students by supporting a student entrepreneurship lab where students learn operations and conduct research in the field of entrepreneurship, business development, regional economic growth, small business finances, marketing, and downtown development (with preference given to students in underserved categories) and integrate student-based learning opportunities with active business development to promote lab-based learning,” she said.

The USF Small Business Accelerator program will work in collaboration with the USF Business Incubator program, and when Accelerator funds are depleted, the USF Business Incubator will continue to support member companies in a sustainable model.

“Locally, the USF Business Incubator has served a majority of startups that fall into the categories of minority-owned (72%), women-owned or co-owned (50%), veteran-owned (one current member) and has a proven track record of serving the initial needs of startups. The businesses that leave the Incubator program take various paths, including: (1) they expand and lease their own office space; (2) they learn their business model is not viable; (3) they cannot raise the capital needed to scale up; (4) they enter accelerator programs outside the area. This proposal hopes to fill the gaps created by lack of funding and the need for an accelerator,” Covelli said.

Brown added that the support of Congressman Foster was instrumental in making the USF Small Business Accelerator possible.

“The University of St. Francis is grateful to the support of Congressman Foster not only for his investment in USF, but in the Joliet region. This project has the potential to create tremendous, positive impact in the region’s business landscape, so his support demonstrates the promise he, too, sees in this opportunity,” she said.

For more information on the USF Small Business Accelerator or to apply for funding, please email USFAccelerator@stfrancis.edu or visit stfrancis.edu/accelerator. Interested parties may also contact Bonnie Covelli, Ed.D., at bcovelli@stfrancis.edu or 815-740-5071 with questions.

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University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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Tag: Grants

IDHS Grant Leads to Two New CRSS Success Program Cohorts

Alamo-Costello Earns Grant to Fund Photography Project

USF Small Business Accelerator to Host Free Screening of Show Her The Money on March 18

USF Earns Hispanic-Serving Institution Designation and Grant Worth Close to $3M

Leach College of Nursing Receives Grant Funding, Including $1.35M through ANEW

USF to Create New Small Business Accelerator through $500,000 Federal Grant

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