Dille Fund for Excellence
2001-2002 Grant Recipients 

The Dille Fund for Excellence, is a permanent endowment honoring former MSU Moorhead President Roland Dille and his wife Beth. The fund is managed by the MSUM Alumni Foundation. A total of $12,845 was awarded to 12 innovative student-centered projects proposed by the following MSUM faculty and students:

Mark Chekola, director, Master of Liberal Arts Program and chair, philosophy department
     Granted $300 for “Student docent/guides for Latin American masks exhibit.” To commemorate the new Hispanic Studies Emphasis within the Liberal Arts Program, an exhibit of nearly 100 Latin American masks will be on display March 25-April 18 in the University Art Gallery. MSUM student docents will be trained to guide visitors through the exhibit.

Matthew Craig, assistant professor, physics and astronomy
     Granted $1,000 for “A study of interacting dark matter in the universe.” Craig’s project will allow physics and astronomy students to conduct and analyze computer simulations to investigate the hypothesis that dark matter in the universe experiences a fifth force beyond the four forces known to exist in nature.

Craig Ellingson, assistant professor, speech communication and theatre arts   
     Granted $2,700 for his project “Intensive workshop in voice and movement” that will serve tri-college theatre students in a weekend workshop on voice and movement with Nancy Krebs, certified voice and dialect coach, singer and actor.

Steve Grineski, professor, foundations of education
     Granted $1,000 for his project “ED 310 mentoring partnership” to allow students in ED 310 to develop mentoring skills while interacting with youth who may be at-risk for academic, social, emotional, psychological problems and to better understand the effect external influences have on young people’s development and decisions.

Susan Imbarrato, director of women’s studies, women’s studies program
     Granted $600 for “Women’s Studies program spring events and Women’s History Month.” Women’s Studies will present a series of lectures, performances, book and art exhibits to celebrate Women’s History Month.

Elizabeth Nawrot, associate professor, psychology with co-applicant Nancy Schuelke, undergraduate psychology student
     Granted $700 for their project “PsycheMon: An interactive game for teaching and learning general psychology.” The teaching tool will be pilot tested in General Psychology 113.

Todd Peters, intramural coordinator/head women’s swim coach/pool supervisor, athletics
     Granted $1,000 for “Dragon Swim School,” a comprehensive aquatics program to serve campus and community children through adults. Grant funding will offset the costs associated with serving young children.

Adam Smith, physics and astronomy undergraduate student
     Granted $795 for “Model rocket demonstrations for MSUM’s July 4^th celebration.” Physics students will participate in planning the demonstrations and volunteering their expertise at the rocket events.

Maureen Reed, assistant professor, humanities and multicultural studies
     Granted $850 for “Representing the Multicultural Midwest: A collaborative project between MSUM’s American Studies Program and the Clay County Historical Society.” Students enrolled in American Studies 317 will create oral histories of members in the Latino, African American, Asian American, and immigrant communities in Clay County.

Michelle Malott, assistant professor, biology, with co-applicants Daniel McEwen, biology undergraduate student, and Donna Bruns-Stockrahm, biology professor and chair
     Granted $1,500 for “Inbreeding depression in a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.” The project will allow biology students to assess the genetic variability of the prairie dogs using DNA microsatellite analysis.

Helen Sheumaker, assistant professor, humanities and multicultural studies with co-applicant Laurie Blunsom, assistant professor, music
     Granted $1,100 for “Not just a hillbilly banjo: Mike Seeger presents Southern banjo sounds from Africa to Appalachia.” The project involves a lecture and performance by Seeger, master class for music students, and a public concert as part of a campus-wide event on American culture and its multicultural heritage.

Brian Wisenden, assistant professor, biology with co-applicant Ellen Brisch, assistant professor, biology
     Granted $1,300 for “Phenotypic engineering and optimal egg size in biparental fish.” The project will involve undergraduate biology students in the analysis of optimal egg size.

This is the sixth set of awards funded by the endowment that raised nearly $3.2 million in gifts and pledges during 1994. The Dille Fund for Excellence annually seeks proposals from the campus community for innovative projects that raise the quality of education at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

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09/16/2008 08:40 AM