Tag: Grants

USF News

USF Awarded $100,000 IBHE Nursing School Grant

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) Leach College of Nursing (LCON) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $100,000 Nursing School Grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). The grant will be used to address equity gaps in enrollment and course completion for USF nursing students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and BSN Completion programs, 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 to accommodate working students and remediation on evenings and weekends to reinforce preparation our students for clinical practice; the LCON expects increasing the retention rate of students. As a result, highly competent and well-prepared students maximize their employment opportunities while benefitting patients in Illinois. The expected outcomes of the grant-funded objectives also align with the Leach College of Nursing’s goals for 2019-2024, which include strengthening communities of learning to provide all members a sense of belonging, and increasing completion and graduation rate in all programs. “We are very grateful for this IBHE Nursing School Grant, which will allow our nursing students to spend more time and build trust with faculty, have more engagement in their learning by attending additional SIM and skills labs, and optimize their use of available resources. In addition, achieving our proposed outcomes will help to address health equity in our community by fostering a more diverse nursing workforce,” said USF Leach College of Nursing Dean Yeijin Yeom, Ph.D., RN, CNE. : : 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 Awarded SAMHSA Grant to Support Mental Health Resources for Students

Joliet, Ill. – Providing mental health resources that meet the needs of students is an important area of focus institutions at all levels of education. The University of St. Francis (USF) is pleased to announce that its efforts to provide mental health resources to its students will be enhanced thanks a three-year matching grant through the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “We were aware that our students, having navigated the challenges presented by COVID-19 for the past two years, were in great need of support. Many students come to campus with lack of awareness about the things they can be doing day to day that have a great impact on their mental health. This grant will greatly help us to raise their awareness and take positive steps forward” said Mollie Rockafellow, Ed.D., dean of student life at USF and grant project director. The two primary goals to be addressed through the matching grant include increasing the university’s capacity to identify at-risk students and improve mental health services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, depression, or serious mental illness (SMI)/serious emotional disturbances (SED), and to prevent and reduce suicide and mental and substance use disorders by increasing awareness of resources and creating a campus culture surrounding mental health that is culturally competent and promotes help-seeking behavior. Efforts funded through the grant began earlier this fall and have enhanced the university’s partnership with Advocate Aurora Health. “Advocate Aurora Health offers amazing counseling support for our students, both in-person on our campus and in virtual formats. We believe this grant will help increase overall mental health while also building a safety net for when students need additional support in working through mental health challenges,” Rockafellow added. Ultimately, Rockafellow is grateful for the positive impact that the matching grant will have on USF’s campus community. “The grant committee is very appreciative that this grant will support our work with our campus community. We know that this grant will allow us to have a positive impact on our USF students teaching them skills that they will be able to carry with them their entire lives. We have an amazing population of students who have varying levels of history working toward a positive mental health experience. Creating spaces and engaging with students on this topic will greatly impact their success as they graduate and contribute to the world through service and leadership,” Rockafellow said. : : 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 Awarded ComEd Green Region Grant to Support Prairie Restoration

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Joliet, Ill. – Once covering over 21 million acres, less than 0.1% of Illinois’ native tallgrass prairie remains. A $10,000 matching grant awarded to the University of St. Francis (USF) and its ‘Reestablishing Illinois Prairie Land: Ongoing Tallgrass Prairie Restoration at Charlotte Codo Prairie in Frankfort, IL’ project through the ComEd Green Region Grant program looks to reverse that trend. The Charlotte Codo Prairie, gifted by the Codo family to USF, is a local prairie restoration site approximately 15 miles east of Joliet. The restoration was initiated by the Codo family in 2014 and is maintained by USF today. Currently, this 47-acre property houses 24 acres of restored tallgrass prairie. Tallgrass prairie fields are used by USF faculty and students for research and educational purposes, including studying biological diversity, learning species identification, and contributing to future restoration practices. Codo Prairie is a site of active restoration. “We plan to expand the acreage of the restored prairie in a multi-year, multi-stage project,” said Chloe Lash, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at USF and project director for the university’s ComEd Green Region grant. “Seventeen acres of alfalfa field on the property will be the next stage of prairie restoration at Codo. While restoring native tallgrass prairie, we also wish to expand public engagement at Codo,” Lash said. The project, supported by $10,000 in matching funds by USF, will be pursued through four stages, including (Stage 1) the establishment of native plant seed gardens, (Stage 2) the expansion of community outreach at Charlotte Codo Prairie, (Stage 3) the harvesting seed from the seed gardens, purchasing seed to supplement harvested seed, and planting of the native seed in the alfalfa field (using current best practices for prairie restoration), and (Stage 4) the planning of controlled burns at the restored site. The ComEd Green Region grant will support efforts for Stages 1 and 2 of this multi-phase project. Lash sees the benefits of this project reaching beyond USF. “This project will not only benefit the University of St. Francis (USF) community but will engage the broader local community in prairie restoration. USF faculty and students will continue to use Codo Prairie for engagement in scientific research and education. Beyond USF, the Codo Prairie Committee is working on establishing approval processes for research by universities and other scientific groups beyond USF affiliates. We are also working on making Codo Prairie more accessible to the public through community partnerships and long-term plans for the property,” Lash said. Ultimately, Lash sees the restoration of native Illinois habitat in Will County as the ultimate goal and is grateful to the ComEd Green Region Grant program for helping USF to embark on that journey. “We are so thankful for the support from the ComEd Green Regions Grant. This award will allow us to build on our educational efforts at the Charlotte Codo Prairie and will support the next stage of prairie restoration at this USF property. Increasing prairieland will support local pollinators, enrich local biodiversity, improve soil health, and assist in climate resiliency research. We are so excited to contribute to restoring native Illinois habitat in Will County,” Lash said. For more information on the ComEd Green Region Grant program, click here. : : 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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