Tom McRoberts, Director for Continuing Education, has received $174,258 from the Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace (MNREM).  The project, Developing Talent for the Bio-Energy Economy: A New Partnership for Biomass Gasification Education, will develop an innovative curriculum in biomass gasification technology culminating in a hands-on biomass course helping to prepare the new wave of workers for the biomass industry.  Partnerships for the project include Minnesota West Community & Technical Colleges, University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center, Nova-Tech Engineering (Wilmar, MN), Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program.

Sandy Olson-Loy, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, has received $73,329 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota from the Healthy Eating Minnesota initiative. The project, Morris Healthy Eating Initiative, is developing a model using community partners and local food growers to assess the food environment and change policy to make healthy food more available and affordable. Community partners for this project include Sodexho, Stevens County Medical Center, the West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, and the Pomme de Terre Food Coop.

Sara Haugen, Student Activites, recently received funding from the Minnesota Arts Council and Arts Midwest to bring cultural and artistic programs to campus through the performing arts series. Performers such as the Lula Washington Dance Company. A dance troupe founded by Lula Washington 30 years ago, exploring African-American social commentary to the floor. This is one of many events that Sara's work will bring to UMM.

James Cotter, Professor of Geology, has been awarded a $499,526 grant from the National Science Foundation for his project "UMM Step Program." The funds will support a project designed to encourage Native American students to graduate from science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics (STEM) fields through innovative curriculur, recruiting and mentoring stategies. More >>

Gordon McIntosh, Associate Professor of Physics, has been awarded a $97,063 grant from the National Science Foundation for his project "Research at Undergraduate Institutions: SiO Master Studies." The project will determine the integrated flux density of the emission and velocity shifts of maser features in four different vibrational states from Mira and R Cassiopeia. The phase dependence and vibrational state dependence of any variations will be examined to look for the effects of the possible passage of a shock through the circumstellar material or other mechanisms that could produce the observed variations.

Tom McRoberts, Director of Continuing Education, Regional Programs, and Summer Session, and Center for Small Towns (CST) has received a $202,109 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation. The funds will be used for the development and implementation for the "Faculty and Student Fellows" program. This three-year program will further connect communities with UMM to enhance regional community development activites across western Minnesota. With its more than 10-year history of working on community-based, locally identified issues, CST will utilize its staff, methodology, and resources to provide neede assistance to communities in the region.

In addition, he was also awarded a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant of $399,494 in the Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) program. The grant will establish a partnership with the City of Morris on a project called Adapting to Change: Managing Urbanization in Rural America (Adapting to Change). Outreach and research activities will focus on housing, economic development, and community organizing and neighborhood revitalization, including Geographic Information Systems Parcel Mapping; City of Morris Habitat for Humanity Chapter; Energizing Entrepreneurship and Business Mentoring Project; Adopt a Grandparent Program; and Take Back the Night/Operation Neighborhood Watch, among others.

The University of Minnesota, Morris is one of only 11 sites selected to receive funding for the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a joint effort of the USDA and the Department of Energy. The UMM award will benefit the biomass gasification project, a comprehensive demonstration of a community-scale biomass energy system.