Innovation Grants: Prior Recipients

We are extremely grateful to our faculty and staff who make donations to the faculty and staff grant fund. These funds, along with revenue collected from parking meters on the Dandini Campus, support these important grant projects.

See Also: Innovation Grant Procedures and Guidelines

2024

A total of six grant requests were partially funded in 2024, totaling $15,000.

  1. Veterinary Anesthesia Training Aids | Amount Funded: $2,725

    Requested by Julie McMahon, Michele Noreen and Erica Prucksakron
    Veterinary teaching aids were requested, which included a practice mannequin and software for students to practice procedures before working on live animals.

  2. Natural History Museum Display and Taxidermy Supplies | Amount Funded: $3,500

    Requested by Megan Lahti, Cecilia Vigil and Meeghan Gray
    The Natural History Museum wishes to provide display cases for specimens in the Learning Commons to increase their educational outreach across TMCC and they requested resources for the continued taxidermy of birds.

  3. International Education Week | Amount Funded: $900

    Requested by Virag Nikolics
    Funds will assist with the programming of International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

  4. Poster Printer with Supplies for the Learning Commons | Amount Funded: $2,500

    Requested by Izumi Shibasaki
    A large format printer for the Learning Commons will be purchased so students can create posters, diagrams, maps and other visual learning and teaching aids.

  5. Par Course Signage | Amount Funded: $3,000
    Requested by Roger Putnam
    In celebration of the Year of Wellness, navigation and interpretive signage will be updated at the Par Course to explain the geology, biology and human history of the campus and community.

  6. ArtFest 2024 | Amount Funded: $2,000
    Requested by Geoff Peck
    Funds will assist with speaker fees and art supplies for various projects during the spring celebration.

2023

A total of four grant requests were partially funded in 2023, totaling $15,589.17.

  1. Collaborative Science Education with Washoe County School District | Amount Funded: $589

    Requested by: Julie Armbrecht
    Team Members: Micaela Rubalcava
    This is a collaborative project between two EDU 201 and two WCSD first grade classes. TMCC students will help the teachers with a science unit, and then both TMCC and WCSD students will participate in a community-building field trip. The project provides a creative way for both groups to learn the required curriculum.

  2. Anatomy in Clay Kinesthetic Learning System | Amount Funded: $6,975

    Requested by: Archana Kumar
    Team Members: Cecilia Vigil
    Students will use the Anatomy in Clay Kinesthetic Learning System to gain a broader visuospatial understanding of muscles, leading to knowledge construction, retention of materials learned, collaboration between students and hands-on experience, which reinforces scientific concepts leading to student success.

  3. TMCC Natural History Museum Insect Collection Development | Amount Funded: $3,020

    Requested by: Megan Lahti
    Team Members: Cecilia Vigil, Meeghan Gray
    This project will grow the TMCC Natural History Insect Collection, which supports multiple biology courses, includes an open-access database, and complements our Bee Campus (funded by faculty and staff innovation grants in 2020). Development of the collection creates a hands-on, active learning system, which generates student interest in STEM and supports student retention.

  4. Use of EMOTIV EPOC EEG Headset for Live Demonstrations in Neuroscience and Psychology Classrooms | Amount Funded: $968

    Requested by: Haley Orthel-Clark
    Team Members: Bob Fletcher, Kevin Dugan, Paula Reynolds
    The headset will help thousands of students have a meaningful interactive experience to learn about the function of the brain in ways they cannot achieve through lecture, diagrams and models.

  5. Demographically Diverse Tutor Hiring and Retention | Amount Funded: $4,038
    Requested by: Jon Reddick-Lau
    Team Members: Presley Patterson, Keegan Phillips, Hallie Madole, Cheryl Scott, Jaimie Smith, Brandy Scarnati
    Deliberate hiring and retention of a demographic of tutors, Supplemental Instruction leaders and Embedded Tutors who most closely match the demographic being served is a novel concept in higher education. This project will put TMCC at the cutting edge of tutoring services as a result of tutors attending Smart Study and the Southern Nevada Diversity Summit.

2022

A total of four grant requests were partially funded in 2022, totaling $14,600.

  1. Improving Discussion Boards with Packback | Amount Funded: $4,000
    Requested By: Laura Briggs
    Discussion boards allow students to engage, but participation is low and demand on faculty is high. The project seeks to improve discussion boards by piloting Packback, an inquiry-based, student-led discussion platform that uses AI to provide live feedback to students.
  2. Reorganizing Supplemental Instruction | Amount Funded: $4,4466.67
    Requested By: Jon Reddick-Lau
    This project aims to reorganize supplemental instruction (SI) at TMCC into a program which best serves our students and faculty. This project is a collaboration between instructors in the biology department and staff in the learning commons and seeks to improve student success while lowering the achievement gaps between various student groups.
  3. Upgrading Classrooms for Automotive Programs | Amount Funded: $4,420
    Requested By: Kyle Smith
    There has historically been a disconnect for many automotive students between written theory/procedure and the hands-on component. This project will purchase and install a SMART board for the automotive classroom that will help students to better interact with subject material essential to their education and future Auto and Diesel occupations.
  4. Using Drones for Biology Research Projects | Amount Funded: $1,733.33
    Requested By: Cecilia Vigil
    This project will purchase 2 DJI Mavic Drones for Biology students to use in novel research questions for several classes, including Animal Behavior, Botany, and Organismal Biology. Engaging in research projects better prepares students for their respective fields; use of drones expands the possibilities for undergraduate research opportunities for many students.

2021

A total of five grant requests were fully or partially funded in 2021, totaling $15,999.72.

  1. Bee Campus USA | Amount Funded: $3,000
    Requested By: Yevonne Allen
    TMCC has a sustainability initiative to become a Bee Campus and we will be the first campus in the state of Nevada. Benefits of joining the efforts of Bee Campus USA include protection of vital animal species, improving local food production, engaging the community, and raising awareness.
  2. 21st Century Classroom | Amount Funded: $3,905
    Requested By: Fred Lokken, John Reid
    Technology updates in Sierra 204 will help TMCC faculty bring instruction into the post-internet and smart phone world with an up-to-date collaboration-focused instruction space. Results will include increased student interaction using their personal devices and increased student preparation for a rapidly-changing digital workforce.
  3. Digital FLAME$ Workshops | Amount Funded: $3,699
    Requested By: Shari Mathiesen
    Two FLAME$ workshops will be converted to a digital platform in order to increase student access and student participation in financial literacy seminars across the college.
  4. FREE Event 2020 | Amount Funded: $1,845.72
    Requested By: Paula Reynolds (in collaboration with many others from a variety of departments)
    The FREE (Faculty for Radical Education and Empowerment) event for Spring 2020 will focus on the theme of “Magic & Logic”. Faculty from several departments have teamed up to focus on collaborative problem solving around the theme of Magic & Logic. The event is scheduled for April 9, 2020, and will include curriculum-based projects, conference roundtable discussions, educational booths, art exhibitions & a student-led t-shirt screen-printing workshop.
  5. Summer Synergy Summit 2020 | Amount Funded: $3,550
    Requested By: Diane Nicolet, Lauren Gatto, Heather Maye, Marcie Iannacchione, Cathy Brewster, Brandy Scarnati, & Micaela Rubalcava
    In July 2020, the second annual Summer Synergy Summit (SSS) will be hosted by the Administrative Faculty Committee. SSS is focused on Professional Development specifically for Administrative Faculty at TMCC. The first SSS was a big success in 2019, with 187 (duplicated) attendees covering six sessions.