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Dean鈥檚 Innovation Fund
CLAS is committed to resourcing structures that highlight interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – connecting programs and initiatives across CLAS and 海角社区. The Dean鈥檚 Innovation Fund was created to support this work. The fund provides up to $5,000 in financial support to encourage impactful efforts in CLAS, whether between faculty and students or among faculty themselves.
Aligned with our vision, mission, and principles, this fund supports work that demonstrates the intersectional qualities of humanity and learning; connection points across disciplinary practice; and the essential need for a broad education that celebrates the liberal arts and sciences.
Projects supported by the Dean鈥檚 Innovation Fund may include, but are not limited to:
- Undergraduate student mentorship and hands-on-experience in areas of interdisciplinary research, scholarship, creative work, and service learning.
- Support for implementing specific High Impact Practices, with the express purpose of increasing retention and completion rates for our students.
- Interdisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative work that raises the profile and reputation of the faculty member, department, and institution.
- Interdisciplinary pedagogical initiatives, including robust co-teaching and team-teaching models, with special attention on introductory and general education courses.
- Interdisciplinary efforts for grant submissions.
Innovation Grants Awardees
Fall 2024 Recipients
Anne Yoncha | Department of Art
Visualizing + Sonifying Bison Carcass Decomposition and its Impact on Soil Health
Peter Bergman | Department of Art
Undergraduate Research and Student Mentorship
Dr. Charlie Potter | Department of English
The Future of User Persona and User Story Development in GenAI Contexts
Deanna Hirsch | Department of Journalism and Media Production
Cultural Chronicles: A Student-Led Book Writing and Publishing Initiative for Narrative Journalism and Heritage Preservation
Dr. Megan Filbin | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Impact of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience on STEM Identity & Confidence
Suree Towfighnia | Department of Journalism and Media Production
The Waters Connect Us
Dr. Sylvia Brady | Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Rideshare Use and Discrimination Among the Blind and Low Vision Community
Spring 2025 Recipients
Jessica Weiss & Dr. Deanne Pytlinski | Department of Art
Indigenous and Latinx Pedagogical Resource Development in Art History (Viceregal-Contemporary)
Dr. Jennifer Koshatka Seman | Department of History
MSU History Department Podcast
Dr. Joseph Feldman | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Research and Exhibition Design for Mosaic of Memories
Dr. Brandon Olson & Dr. Justin Stephens | Department of History
Pyla-Vigla: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Ancient Past
Dr. Kristen Lyons & Dr. Sandra Mizumoto Posey | Department of Psychological Sciences and The Gender Institute of Teaching and Advocacy
Student Parents at 海角社区: Short Comic Books Containing the Illustrated Story of one Parent’s Journey
Dr. Shalini Srinivasan, Dr. Cynthia Erickson & Dr. Arijana Barun | Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Department of Psychological Sciences
Using the Classroom Observational Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (Copus to Characterise Transformational Teaching Practices in STEM Classrooms
Dr. Summer Trentin & Dr. Jillian Mollenhauer | Department of Art
Indigenous and Latinx Pedagogical Resource Development in Art History (Ancient-Modern)
Dr. Yunjin La-Mei Woo, Dr. Adriana Nieto & Micah Ramirez | Department of Art and Department of Chicana/o Studies
Visions of Healing Intergenerational Trauma: Interdisciplinary Course and Workshops on Creative Autoethnography
Fall 2023 Recipients
Dr. Christina Foust | Department of Communication Studies
Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week 2024 (DCEW鈥�24)鈥�
Dr. Nels Grevstad | Department of Mathematics and Statistics
The benefits of yoga for mental health and feeding interactions between wolves and corvid birds (ravens and magpies)
Dr. Jill Mollenhauer | Department of Art
Archival and Comparative Visual Research at the the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
Dr. Richard Sandoval | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Chorti鈥� Project travel to Guatemala and Honduras
Dr. Jessica Weiss | Department of Art
Archival and Comparative Visual Research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City鈥�
Spring 2024 Recipients
Dr. John Rief | Department of Communication Studies
Building the Gary Holbrook Debating Union & Archive
Dr. Justin Stephens and Dr. Brandon Olson | Department of History
Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project
Dr. Vincent Piturro | Department of English
Politics on Film
Dr. Kevin Rucker | Department of History
History Student Internship Program with National Parks Service
Dr. Elizabeth Macy | Department of Music/Asian Studies
Scholarship and Relationship Building in SE Asia
Dr. Nicholas Recker and Dr. Brian O’Hara | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Bringing an International Interdisciplinary Conference to Auraria Campus
Dr. Philip Ficsor | Department of Music
Funding for Composition of a Horn Trio
Dr. Arijana Barun | Department of Biology
Innovative and Inclusive Teaching Techniques in Biology
Dr. Robert Hancock | Department of Biology
The Mosquito Genus Sabethes聽and their Roles as Secondary Vectors of Diseases
Dr. April Hill | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Dr. Alexis Bachik | Department of Psychological Sciences
Investigating Physiological and Psychological Effects of Cupping Massage
Matt Jenkins | Department of Art
International Artist Residency with the Arquetopia Foundation
Dr. Ting Jiang and Dr. Rebecca Forgash | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Cultivating Asian Studies for Students at 海角社区
Dr. Gabrielle Katz | Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Lincoln Davie | Department of Recreation, and Tourism Management
Creating a Student-Faculty Learning Community Involving Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
Dr. Brandon R. Olson | Department of History and Dr. Justin Stephens | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Faculty and Student Participation in the聽Plya-Koutsopetria聽Archaeological Project in Cyprus
Dr. Andrew Pantos | Department of English
Experiential Learning for Students: Assisting Faculty on a Textbook Involving the Structure of the English Language, Under Contract to be Published by Cognella Publishing
Kevin Rucker | Department of History
Internship Opportunities for 海角社区 Students at the National Park Service in Southern Colorado – Las Animas and La Junta
Dr. Anahi Russo | The Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy
Archiving the Gender Institute for Teaching Advocacy (GITA) Collection at the Auraria Library
Dr. Michala Stock and Dr. Todd Yokley | Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Faculty and Student Participation at the 2023 Annual Conference for the Rocky Mountain Biological Anthropology Association
Featured Dean's Innovation Fund Stories
Read about the successes of past College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Dean’s Innovation Fund projects.
Dean's Innovation Fund in RED
Support the Dean's Innovation Fund
Your support makes innovation possible.
Gifts to the Dean’s Innovation Fund help launch the next generation of faculty-student collaborations, high-impact learning experiences, and scholarly breakthroughs that define a transformative education.
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Mailing Address:
Campus Box 37
P. O. Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
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