The Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) has awarded two initial rounds of grant funding:
Six Rapid Action Innovation Grants were awarded from a total of nine proposals, for the academic year 2011-2012. These projects, designed to get the CAI process off to a quick start, have been wrapped up.
Three Innovation Grants for the year 2012-2013 have been awarded, out of seven proposals. “This is just the first wave of innovation grant funding for this academic year, and we anticipate supporting more initiatives in the coming months,” said Abi Abrash Walton, founding director of the CAI. “We have been thrilled to see the strong and innovative proposals that our campus community is generating and look forward to hosting events this fall to spotlight and share the organizational learning from grant recipients’ initiatives.”
Walton, Torin Finser, chair of the Department of Education, and Don Woodhouse, AUNE grants office director, served on the CAI Innovation Grants Review Committee for these first two rounds of funding.
Grant recipients will give public presentations of their projects this fall. The CAI will hold several other topic-specific forums, gatherings, and workshops.
The center was launched on March 1 as an incubator for entrepreneurial projects and ideas. It provides financial, organizational, and consulting support for creative new academic initiatives, including seminars, workshops, and other new academic offerings such as the Conservation Psychology Institute.
