Arts and Sciences Projects Garner Impact Grants
The Office of Outreach and Engagement awarded 2012 Engagement Impact Grants to three Arts and Sciences outreach initiatives:
Pay It Forward Marion
Partners: Stuart Lishan, Ben McCorkle, Cassandra Parente, Alexis Martina, Amy Tibbals, Catherine C. Braun, English; Pam Stone, United Way of Marion County
As part of The Ohio State University, Marion’s course-based, service-learning initiative, Pay It Forward Marion’s (PIFM), purpose is to promote civic engagement in at least six English courses ranging from beginner to advanced and to improve the local community through skill-based service and philanthropy.
Beginning writers will apply their research, writing, and rhetorical skills by examining community needs and developing fundraisers to increase available funds. Their findings and funds will be passed along to intermediate writing students, who will research and volunteer at local non-profit organizations responding to the identified community needs, promote the PIFM project, and collect RFPs. Students in advanced classes will receive these materials, analyze proposals, engage in more in-depth research at the non-profits seeking funds, and create multimodal arguments about how to distribute the funds.
Shakespeare and Autism: Intervention in the Columbus Community
Partners: Lesley Ferris, Theatre and OSU/Royal Shakespeare Co. Programs; Marc J. Tassé, Psychology, Psychiatry and Nisonger Center; Mary Ey, Columbus Public Schools Student Support Services; Amy Hess, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Autism Treatment Network
The Ohio State University/Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) partnership is developing a ground-breaking, collaborative research project between Ohio State Theatre and the Nisonger Center.
The project engages the question of whether drama - particularly Shakespeare - can break through the communicative blocks of autism and whether this therapeutic intervention has long-term benefits. This project includes a full, randomized control study of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study will begin with community partner, Columbus Public Schools, in autumn 2012 and continue through spring 2015. The team will collaborate with Kelly Hunter, a leading RSC actress, who has worked with children and young people with ASD for more than 20 years.
Identifying Social & Cultural Barriers to Food Security in Nicaragua
Partners: Barbara Piperata, Anthropology; Kammi Schmeer, Sociology; Andrés Herrera and Mariano Salazar, Center for Demographic and Health Research (León, Nicaragua)
With approximately 1 billion people world-wide suffering from lack of adequate access to food, food insecurity and maternal-child malnutrition remain critical health issues in poor communities around the world. This project aims to address this pressing need in poor communities in Nicaragua (the 2nd poorest country in the Western hemisphere) through an “outreach through research” approach.
This effort will involve local researchers and community members in a much-needed food security and health study in León, Nicaragua, and in outreach efforts that provide evidence-based feedback to the local communities about these health issues. The immediate outcome of the project will be the identification of barriers to food security and child health in poor communities in León, Nicaragua, while elevating Ohio State’s visibility as an international research and outreach university engaging in policy relevant food security and health research and outreach.
The Office of Outreach and Engagement’s grant program supports innovative and creative outreach and engagement initiatives that connect academic excellence with societal needs; it enhances and/or creates partnerships between members of the university community and community partners; and enhances development of a unit’s outreach and engagement mission.
