Acadia
University receives $3 million
For Release: April 24, 2002
(Wolfville,
NS) - On March 11th
four separate organizations announced their support for Acadia
University. The result: approximately $3 million in
funding. Acadia received grants of $1.82 million from The J.W.
McConnell Family Foundation, $575,330 from NSERC and US
$100,000 from Libra Foundation of Portland, Maine. In addition, JDS
Uniphase provided equipment valued in excess of $500,000. This
money and equipment will enhance technology in both teaching and
research at Acadia.
"We were
able to secure this funding and equipment primarily because of our
Acadia Advantage teaching and technology initiatives," says Dr.
Kelvin Ogilvie, President & Vice-Chancellor.
The J.W.
McConnell Family Foundation grant provides direct support for the
Acadia Advantage Program and marks a continuing relationship between
Acadia and the Montreal-based family foundation. Funding from the
Foundation in the amount of $1.4 million over the past three years
has supported the basic infrastructure of Acadia's Institute of
Teaching & Technology (AITT). This new grant of $1.82 million
will enhance that infrastructure over a further two to three year
period enabling Acadia to consolidate and build on the work of the
AITT, while moving it toward financial sustainability.
The grant will
enable Acadia University to take the Acadia Advantage initiative a
major step forward. It will support the integration of
innovative curriculum throughout academic programs and across
interdisciplinary program areas. Building on the successful
faculty-student partnership model, 25 additional student jobs will
be created. This grant will further enhance the AITT as an
internationally renowned centre of expertise on learning
technologies and reflects Acadia's leadership in assisting other
institutions to design and implement technology-enhanced education.
"Our
intention is to provide Acadia with the means to maintain and
develop the core of the Advantage Program within a time frame
adequate to ensure a model which is financially sustainable over the
long-term. This support is a strong endorsement of Acadia's
leadership," says Tim Brodhead, President and Chief Executive
Officer for the Foundation.
Libra Foundation grants are
available to programs that invest in the future of the citizens of
Maine. Libra Foundation funding will bring 48 teachers, students,
school administrators and parents from the state of Maine to
Acadia's campus this summer to work on elements of IT strategy and
training. Acadia and the state of Maine school systems have been
developing closer ties and this particular grant offers an
opportunity for the AITT to assist with the gradual integration of
the use of computers in both the middle schools and high schools
located in the general area of Portland. Libra Foundation's program
will strengthen Acadia's profile as a post-secondary institution of
choice with graduating students in southern Maine.
The donation of equipment from JDS
Uniphase brings new tools to the fully wired Acadia campus. This
donation signals the beginning of a new partnership between the
University and JDS Uniphase in the areas of teaching and research.
The newly-equipped lab will be located in the Physics Department and
will focus on the study of fibre optics in IT communication systems.
The new National Sciences and Engineering Research Council funding
initiative is part of Canada's Innovation Strategy, which
will make Canadian universities more globally competitive in the
knowledge economy.
Since 1996 the Acadia Advantage
program has provided every student and professor at Acadia with a
notebook computer. This technological
infrastructure is unparalleled across Canada and is at the forefront
of undergraduate education in North America. Access to
on-line information and the integration of technology into the
curriculum has made Acadia the most innovative primarily
undergraduate university in Canada and has led to international
recognition.
Through this combination of grant
funding and equipment enhancement, Acadia will be able to continue
to be an innovative leader with the Acadia Advantage program and
will explore new ways to enhance the next evolution of learning.
-30-
For more information contact:
Sheri Woodland
Communications Manager
Office of Public Affairs
Acadia University
(902) 585-1362
Acadia
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