Women's Giving Circle Grants

2023-2024 Grant Recipients

Caseload tracking system for mental health services

$9,000 awarded to the Student Health Services

This grant will fund a two-year agreement for access to a caseload tracking system to add to the electronic record system currently in use by staff participating in collaborative care. It will provide valuable information and service to providers and students, including setting reminders to follow up with students in the health care record, tracking patient outcomes and flagging students with worsening mental health symptoms for provider review. More information on the Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions (AIMS) Caseload Tracker can be found at https://aims.uw.edu/registry-tools.

 

Center for Compassion and Contemplative Practice undergraduate scholarship fund

$7,800 awarded to the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Psychological Sciences and the Contemplative Studies Initiative

OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative (CSI) has secured a brand-new physical location for contemplative practice and will continue to offer both free and fee-based programming to the campus and broader community there.  This grant assists the center in establishing a $7,800 scholarship fund to provide full and half scholarships for undergraduate students to attend weekly classes and fee-based workshops — yoga, meditation, qigong, contemplative dance, contemplative writing, centering practices and more — at no or reduced cost.

 

College of Education peer mentorship program

$6,425 awarded to the College of Education

This grant supports the development of a student-led mentorship program for undergraduate students pursuing educator preparation (teaching) programs in the College of Education. To launch the program, peer ambassadors will each focus on five to10 students to engage in regular one-on-one meetings, along with group events each term. This program is designed to assist students throughout the duration of the program — typically four to five years — which students will enter as mentees before serving as mentors. By having program-specific mentors, students will have support as they navigate the complicated application and licensure requirements to become a teacher and develop networks with fellow educators.  

 

College of Forestry Rootstock: Student food pantry

$5,000 awarded to the College of Forestry

Food insecurity remains a significant problem in the state of Oregon and among our students. Rootstock actively works to provide a variety of resources and educational experiences for faculty, staff and students to ensure that more people in our community have the food and resources they need. This grant supports Rootstock’s efforts as a community space providing food and resources to undergraduate and graduate students in need.   

 

InnovationX design maker space and materials library

$9,944 awarded to the College of Business

This grant catalyzes the creation of a design-specific maker space, tailored to the unique needs of students across all disciplines of design. The College of Business (in partnership with the College of Engineering) will be updating and expanding their maker space to provide a more accessible and innovative space for undergrads beyond their first year. Having modern tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers and textile printing will give projects much-needed physicality and open up new opportunities for a variety of entrepreneurial projects.

 

Educational Opportunities Program Advisory Council (EOPAC)

$5,000 awarded to the Educational Opportunities Program

The Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) at OSU provides a variety of support services for students, including one student-led program: the EOP Advisory Council (EOPAC). This grant will continue to enhance the OSU undergraduate experience and improve student retention by providing a stronger sense of community and enhancing peer support among students in the EOP. Currently, students in the EOP are retained and graduate at 2%-18% higher rates compared to their counterparts, demonstrating that the support services provided by EOP, including the EOPAC contribute to the increased retention and graduation rates of underserved students populations at OSU.

 

English conversation partnerships for international students

$2,112 awarded to the Office of International Services

The Office of International Services (OIS), in collaboration with the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center (CMLC), are collaborating to expand the programs available to international students and scholars needing to practice English. With this grant, both organizations will host a mid-year event in order to expand outreach for their conversation partner programs that will bring international students, faculty, scholars and community members together to share cultures.  

 

High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE)

$8,000 awarded to the College of Engineering

This grant matches funding for Oregon State University’s High Altitude Liquid Engine (HALE) team — a student-run Engineering Capstone team made up of 15 undergraduate engineering students with the goal of successfully launching and recovering a single stage liquid bi-propellant rocket to the Karman Line, or 100 km above ground level. HALE is competing in the Base 11 Space Challenge with more than 40 university teams. For 2022-23, HALE has the goal of successfully launching and recovering a subscale liquid engine rocket, which could result in an OSU team being one of the first few university teams in the United States to do so successfully.

 

OSU College of Forestry clothing library

$4.838 awarded to the College of Forestry, Forest Ecosystems and Society

To better serve students in the College of Forestry, a free clothing library for field gear and interview clothes has been established. Students may borrow and return any clothing they need at any time in Richardson Hall 152. Use of the library is not limited to College of Forestry students, but as the project is in its infancy, so far it has only directly impacted students in programs associated with the with the college. This grant provides additional funding to add to the library and to fund its associated upkeep costs and potentially expand the reach and participation to all of OSU.

 

The Adaptive Exercise Clinic: An OSU student-run program for the Corvallis community

$2,616 awarded to the Faculty Staff Fitness Program housed within the College of Public Health and Human Sciences

Oregon State’s Adaptive Exercise Clinic (AEC) is a student-led program that provides personalized workout routines for adults with neurodegenerative disease, such as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease. This one-of-a-kind program serves the OSU community and the region; participants need not be affiliated with the university. The AEC facility is equipped with secondhand, discarded and scarce exercise equipment. This grant provides funding to supply the AEC with adequate and updated equipment to meet participants' specific needs and provide a scholarship fund for enrollment fees so the program is accessible to all.

 

The Food Trail: Re-establishing community at OSU through experiential food and nutrition

$5,500 awarded to the Nutrition and Dietetics Club, within the Nutrition Program, School of Biological and Population Health Sciences

The OSU Nutrition Program’s Nutrition and Dietetics Club (NDC) is proposing an innovative expansion of extracurricular community building and learning activities for any undergraduate student with interests in food and nutrition. Peer-elected student leadership, with faculty sponsor guidance, will curate a series of field trips exploring an array of food and nutrition organizations and businesses in the region. This grant supports a Shark Tank-type pitch competition where students suggest a viable organization or business they would like to work with and develop an experiential learning opportunity for other OSU students. Mini stipends would be awarded to the five pitchers receiving the most student votes, allowing them to implement their plans.

 

Tools and technology: Student learning and support

$9,960 awarded to OSU-Cascades, Student Affairs

Cascades Edge supports student retention and recruiting at OSU-Cascades by intersecting career and personal development throughout a student’s academic journey. The program will enable students to develop a variety of competencies which employers and colleges deem highly important for career readiness. This grant provides students with individual support and tutoring sessions as well as workshops and video resources to build a library of resources unique to OSU-Cascades students’ needs. Funding will be used to develop the OSU-Cascades Technology Support Program, within the larger initiative of Cascades Edge, that will facilitate technology-skill tutoring opportunities; develop technology readiness, web-based tutorials and workshops; and encourage student participation in developing critical technology skills need for college success and beyond.

 

Undergraduate bacteriology and molecular biology research at OSU-Cascades

$2,206 awarded to OSU-Cascades Biology program

This grant provides laboratory materials and supplies to enhance the undergraduate research experience in the Biology program at Oregon State University-Cascades. Faculty in the program share a focus on providing high-quality and collaborative undergraduate research, scholarly and creative activity opportunities for OSU-Cascades faculty and students.