2008 Woodie Awards
SMSU receives $100,000 grant from Ford Foundation
Jaclyn Prososki
Issue date: 1/18/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Southwest Minnesota State University will receive a $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to use towards the major goals of increasing democratic values and advancing human achievement.
The award is one of 27, chosen from 675 preliminary proposals.
"SMSU joins such noted institutions as Macalester, Yale, Emory and Northwestern in this prestigious initiative," said SMSU President David Danahar. "This award is yet another reflection of the growing recognition of Southwest as a high quality public liberal arts institution."
The money from the grant will be used to work towards four goals: connecting the campus community to an annual conference hosted by the Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies Program; creating four new courses dealing with difference; conducting two faculty development awareness sessions to build faculty strength on issues of difference; and providing partial support for a journal of Indigenous writing, art, and thought.
Beth Weatherby, dean of the college of arts, letters and sciences, agreed that the grant is a big achievement for the SMSU.
"The proposal is a compelling, persuasive piece of writing. The content is unassailable. I'm sure the application rose to the top immediately," Weatherby said.
Judy Wilson, director of creative writing, wrote the grant for the initiative "Difficult Dialogues" along with team members Stewart Day, Eric Markusen, Jeff Kolnick, Vicky Brockman, and Chris Mato Nunpa.
Mato Nunpa said he is personally happy that SMSU will focus on Indigenous issues, which he believes is often a difficult topic for many people.
"Most of the issues which are crucial and are usually covered in the Indigenous Nations & Dakota Studies (INDS) Program are considered 'controversial' by the Euro-American society," Mato Nunpa said.
Mato Nunpa listed imperialism, colonialism, decolonization, genocide and ethnic cleansing as some of these important issues.
The issue of ethnic cleansing will be the topic of his annual INDS spring conference, funded by the grant money.
"I am pleased that these difficult topics will be highlighted," Mato Nunpa said.
Weatherby said the participation of students is crucial to the purpose of the grant.
"The title of the initiative, Difficult Dialogues, points to the courage of the faculty who worked so hard to provide our community with this opportunity. A respectful, positive environment requires that we willingly engage the difficult respectfully and mindfully. We all owe this group our thanks for their leadership," Weatherby said.
Danahar also hopes for student participation.
"My hope is this award will foster purposeful debate on a series of topics that are essential to our current historical situation," Danahar said.
The award is one of 27, chosen from 675 preliminary proposals.
"SMSU joins such noted institutions as Macalester, Yale, Emory and Northwestern in this prestigious initiative," said SMSU President David Danahar. "This award is yet another reflection of the growing recognition of Southwest as a high quality public liberal arts institution."
The money from the grant will be used to work towards four goals: connecting the campus community to an annual conference hosted by the Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies Program; creating four new courses dealing with difference; conducting two faculty development awareness sessions to build faculty strength on issues of difference; and providing partial support for a journal of Indigenous writing, art, and thought.
Beth Weatherby, dean of the college of arts, letters and sciences, agreed that the grant is a big achievement for the SMSU.
"The proposal is a compelling, persuasive piece of writing. The content is unassailable. I'm sure the application rose to the top immediately," Weatherby said.
Judy Wilson, director of creative writing, wrote the grant for the initiative "Difficult Dialogues" along with team members Stewart Day, Eric Markusen, Jeff Kolnick, Vicky Brockman, and Chris Mato Nunpa.
Mato Nunpa said he is personally happy that SMSU will focus on Indigenous issues, which he believes is often a difficult topic for many people.
"Most of the issues which are crucial and are usually covered in the Indigenous Nations & Dakota Studies (INDS) Program are considered 'controversial' by the Euro-American society," Mato Nunpa said.
Mato Nunpa listed imperialism, colonialism, decolonization, genocide and ethnic cleansing as some of these important issues.
The issue of ethnic cleansing will be the topic of his annual INDS spring conference, funded by the grant money.
"I am pleased that these difficult topics will be highlighted," Mato Nunpa said.
Weatherby said the participation of students is crucial to the purpose of the grant.
"The title of the initiative, Difficult Dialogues, points to the courage of the faculty who worked so hard to provide our community with this opportunity. A respectful, positive environment requires that we willingly engage the difficult respectfully and mindfully. We all owe this group our thanks for their leadership," Weatherby said.
Danahar also hopes for student participation.
"My hope is this award will foster purposeful debate on a series of topics that are essential to our current historical situation," Danahar said.