Grants to stimulate research and programs that enhance diversity were awarded this week at Loyola Marymount University as part of the Inclusive Excellence Grants Program.
The grants, totaling $14,000, were awarded by Abbie Robinson-Armstrong, vice president for Intercultural Affairs, and the University Intercultural Council. The Inclusive Excellence Grants Program identifies and funds higher education research and inclusive excellence projects that help LMU infuse diversity and interculturalism throughout the campus community.
A grant of $5,000, for research that explores diversity and inclusion, was awarded to Leslie Ponciano, assistant professor and director of Early Childhood Education at LMU’s School of Education. Ponciano will conduct a needs assessment of the services LMU provides to college-aged students in foster care.
Three grants of $3,000 were awarded for projects to increase recruitment and retention of a diverse constituency on campus. Individual awards will go to La’ Tonya Rease Miles, director of the Academic Resource Center, to support writing workshops for first-generation college students at LMU; and Melvin Robert, director of the Office of Black Student Services, to provide a yearlong workshop series that is focused on interculturalism and identity. An award will be shared by Jamie Hazlitt, outreach librarian, and Raymundo Andrade, library cataloging assistant, to provide technology and library skill development for university service staff.