We are thrilled to announce that our very own Dr. Katherine Cheng, Dr. Maura Varley Gutierrez, and Dr. Heather Haeger have been chosen as recipients of the 2024 HSI Faculty Seed Grant Program for their respective projects!
Dr. Katherine Cheng, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the College of Education, received funding for her project, "Enhancing Emotional and Motivational Development to Support Health Equity and Educational Retention in Historically Marginalized University Students." In collaboration with the AWARDSS-plus program, TRIO-ASEMS, THRIVE Center, and Think Tank, Katherine will provide essential resources to enhance retention in higher education.
Dr. Maura Varley Gutierrez, Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Teaching, Learning & Socio-Cultural Studies, College of Education, secured funding for her project, "Nuestro Futuro: Uplifting Culturally Responsive Bilingual Education." This initiative will spotlight UArizona Bilingual Elementary Education Program alumni who are implementing bilingual and culturally responsive education. Maura hopes these stories will foster a sense of belonging for bilingual undergraduate students and inspire them to become future bilingual, culturally responsive educators.
Dr. Heather Haeger, Assistant Professor in Education Policy Studies and Practice and the Research Director of the STEM Learning Center, along with her university colleagues Kavan Hazel, Noel Hennessy, and April Horne, received funding for their work focused on the impact of leadership development and outreach engagement on academic and liberatory outcomes of marginalized students in engineering. Engineering Mentors Promoting Outreach, Wellness, Education, and Respect (EMPOWER) connects undergraduate students to pre-college students in the community, allowing pre-college students to see themselves as engineers while building the confidence and self-efficacy of current undergraduate students, encouraging them to persist in engineering education. The EMPOWER project also aims to build a strong connection between authentic community relationships and the success of Latinx and other historically underrepresented student populations in engineering education. Dr. Haeger's professional experience in facilitating co-curricular engagement opportunities for historically marginalized students will be invaluable as her team designs and teaches a culturally relevant curriculum for EMPOWER Leaders. Her expertise in survey development and dissemination will also play a critical role in the data collection for this research.
Congratulations, Katherine, Maura, and Heather, on your well-deserved recognition and for your innovative projects that will undoubtedly make a significant impact in your respective fields.
See the complete list of recipients.
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