UND CONNECT

Ethan Dahl, Associate Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

Tiffany Russell, Assistant Professor of Psychology

• Project Description: Partnering with the Grand Forks chapter of PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Dahl, Russell and their students will create evidence-based resource toolkits and trainings for business owners focused on creating inclusive and welcoming environments for sexual and gender minorities in North Dakota communities.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Chapter of PFLAG
• Timeline: September 2024-June 2025

Amanda Haage, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences

• Project Description: Create 3D-printed materials for visually impaired students in Anatomy and Physiology courses in collaboration with North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind in Grand Forks.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind
• Timeline: July 2024-December 2024

Joshua Hunter, Associate Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

• Project Description: In partnership with the Blue Zones Project, the city of Grand Forks and its Town Square Farmers Market, Hunter seeks to develop educational programming specific to youth on local food production, awareness of healthy eating and local food pathways/resources.
• Community Partner: Town Square Farmer's Market, Blue Zones Project, and GRO.UND
• Timeline: July 2024-June 2025

Soojung Kim, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: Expand Grand Forks Public Library’s digital radon detector lending program to the Fargo Public Library and provide her students with an experiential learning opportunity in the process.
• Community Partner: Fargo Public Library
• Timeline: June 2024-April 2025

Merie Kirby, Teaching Associate Professor of Honors

• Project Description: Research and create materials in collaboration with the High Plains Fair Housing Center that would be used for education at the community, state and national levels bringing visibility to Native American fair housing issues.
• Community Partner: High Plains Fair Housing Center
• Timeline: January 2025-June 2025

Joonghwa Lee, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: For UND’s 2025 Digital Storytelling Summit – a weeklong program that brings high school students to UND to learn about journalism and multimedia storytelling – Lee will fund UND student interns to help facilitate activities.
• Community Partners: High school students from various North Dakota communities 
• Timeline: August 2024-August 2025

Harry Liu, Assistant Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

Tanis Walch, Professor of Education, Health & Behavior

• Project Description: Liu and Walch plan to host “Inclusive Moves,” an adaptive pickleball-based intervention program for enhancing motor skills, physical activity and social interactions among 8- to 12-year-old children with physical and developmental disabilities.
• Community Partners: Grand Forks School District Special Education, Grand Forks Park District, and the North Dakota State Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Timeline: July 2024-June 2025

Adam Matz, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

• Project Description: Conduct a study with the Community Violence Intervention Center to understand the outcomes of the Grand Forks Domestic Violence Court.
• Community Partners: Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) and Grand Forks Domestic Violence Court
• Timeline: August 2024-December 2024

Nariaki Sugiura, Associate Professor of Music

Ling Lo, Teaching Assistant Professor of Music

Whitney Berry, Teaching Associate Professor of Music

• Project Description: The trio of music professors will create a series of online piano lessons and basic music theory classes for students at Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, N.D.
• Community Partners: Turtle Mountain Tribal College

Daniel Bartholomay, Assistant Professor of Sociology

• Project Description: Partnering with the F5 Project in Fargo, Bartholomay’s project aims to raise awareness and influence policies to support transitional housing and recovery programs in North Dakota. “Voices of the Home” will give people residing in transitional housing, including those formerly incarcerated or recovering from addiction, the opportunity to use photographs and narratives to document their reintegration experiences.
• Community Partner: F5 Project (Fargo)

Christie Cole, Assistant Professor of Languages

Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

• Project Description: Monthly Spanish Storytime at the Grand Forks Public Library will bring UND students and members of the Grand Forks Latinx community together. The goal is to provide experiential learning opportunities for students while also providing space for Spanish-speaking residents to value and celebrate the language.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Public Library

James Higgins, Department of Aviation

• Project Description: The Department of Aviation, in partnership with Altru Care Flight, seeks to create a flight data monitoring program for North Dakota air ambulance operators. Through active data monitoring, operators can better identify safety risks, monitor pilot performance and improve flight operations.
• Community Partners: Altru Care Flight (Grand Forks)

Lavinia Iancu, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

• Project Description:The Forensic Science Bootcamp at Turtle River State Park, organized alongside the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, will provide hands-on training and certification in crime scene investigation. The program will enhance students’ career prospects and strengthen community safety by preparing well-trained forensic professionals.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations

Joonghwa Lee, Associate Professor of Communication

• Project Description: Archive unique stories of new Americans in North Dakota and showcase their journeys toward naturalization through photo and video exhibitions during the week of Constitution Day 2025, to welcome them to local and state communities.
• Community Partner: City of Grand Forks

Ling Lo, Teaching Assistant Professor of Music

• Project Description: Creating the Sensory Family Concert Series to create concert environments at UND which welcome people from diverse backgrounds and with varied abilities.
• Community Partner: LISTEN CENTER (Grand Forks)

Julie Robinson, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

Renuka de Silva, Assistant Professor of Teaching & Leadership

• Project Description: Dakota Ribbon shirts and skirts are worn during important gatherings and events to signify resilience and celebrate cultural identity. In this project, students at Tate Topa Tribal School in Fort Totten, N.D., will create their own ribbon skirts and shirts that they can wear for community events. The goal is to foster cultural identity, knowledge and pride.
• Community Partner: Tate Topa Tribal School (Fort Totten)

Akorede Teriba, Assistant Professor of Education, Health & Behavioral Studies

• Project Description: Develop a peer support training program to provide teachers with an understanding of burnout and what contributes to it. Through a workshop, teachers will be equipped to support one another and decrease the likelihood of experiencing burnout.
• Community Partner: Grand Forks Public Schools

Daile Zhang, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences

• Project Description: Create an education and awareness program to reduce lightning-related risks in Grand Forks through a partnership with the local National Weather Service station. The program includes public awareness events, educational material development, media engagement and implementation of safety measures.
• Community Partner: National Weather Service (Grand Forks)

Jessica Zorn, Faculty Resident of Physical Therapy

• Project Description: In collaboration with the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences, College of Education & Human Development, the North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind and the UND Swing Club, Zorn is conducting a study to evaluate the effectiveness of dance-based intervention to enhance motor skills, physical activity and social/emotional well-being in individuals with visual impairment.
• Community Partner: North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind

Open to all faculty members at UND, including special appointment and part-time faculty. Faculty may submit one proposal but participate in multiple UND CONNECT projects submitted by other faculty members. Faculty who had proposals funded in spring 2024 may submit new UND CONNECT proposals in the fall funding cycle for different community-based projects.

Project proposals should articulate how the following objectives will be met:

• Integrate faculty expertise, student learning, and the active participation of at least one North Dakota community organization/partner;
• improve the quality of life in some fashion for communities within North Dakota;
• involve students and provide unique learning opportunities or experiences for these students.

Proposals must include the following:

• Description of the project, including information about how it meets the three criteria outlined above (not to exceed 1500 words). Proposals should identify all faculty members and community partners involved with the proposed project;
• a detailed, projected budget for the UND CONNECT funding request (not to exceed $5,000); the overall project budget could include other funding sources. If applicable, please include other funding sources;
• a timeline for the project from inception to completion. Projects may begin after November 1, 2024, and must be completed by August 31, 2025;
• letter of support from community partner.

Submission

Complete application packets must include:

1.  UND CONNECT application form signed by dean

2.  Project proposal, including budget and timeline 

3.  Letter of support from community partner

Please save all materials as one PDF document in the order listed above and upload by September 26, 2024 by 5 p.m.

Funded faculty members must be willing to work with the Office of the Provost and UND Marketing on the development and promotion of stories related to the project. This might include contributing to posts on social media about the project, providing a description of the project and regular updates, interviews about the project, photos of faculty and students in the field working on the project, etc.

Note: UND CONNECT applications do not need to be submitted to Research & Sponsored Program Development through Novelution.  

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated using the evaluation rubric. Applicants should closely review the evaluation rubric as they prepare their project proposals. 

Contact

• Randi Tanglen,vice provost for faculty affairs, with questions about project proposals
• Taylor Hanson Wald, academic affairs coordinator, with questions about application submission
• Eric Peterson, financial manager, with question about allowable expenses and/or review university and SBHE policy.

• Up to $5,000 to support project
• Monies must be used for project operating expenses, subject to university policy
• Monies may NOT be used for salary, including student salaries
• Monies cannot be used to provide course buyouts for the sponsoring faculty member
• Monies cannot be recaptured by sponsoring faculty member as salary
• Monies should be spent by August 31, 2025

UND CONNECT funds are not automatically renewable, but faculty members who receive funding may be eligible to apply for renewal in subsequent years. The hope is that successful projects with long-term potential will become self-sustaining after the initial year through other grants or community/partner investment. That may not be possible in all cases, of course. Projects that become self-sustaining are not necessarily subject to all of the stipulations outlined above.

• September 26, 2024: Proposals must be submitted
• Week of October 14: SSAC committee meets to review UND CONNECT proposals and send recommendations to Office of the Provost
• Week of October 21: UND CONNECT proposal applicants notified of award status
• Week of October 28: Budget training sessions. Funds available after successfully completing training session and signing award letter.

Proposals will be received, reviewed, and recommended for selection to the Office of the Provost by the Senate Scholarly Activities Committee (SSAC). Up to eleven (11) proposals for up to $5,000 can be supported.

Within a month of the completion of a project, the funded faculty member must submit a brief (1-2 page) post-project report to the Office of the Provost and the SSAC detailing the activities, successes, challenges, and so forth, of the initiative. These reports will allow the university to refine the program, improve outcomes, and market future initiatives.  

report template