A Green Solution to Housing Pollution

“Rather than just talking about rebuilding the community, Jonathan Spodek and his collaboration with the Muncie community are making a visible difference.” –Steve Herron, Graduate Student, Architecture

Whether it’s green cars, green energy, or green business practices, the word “green” seems to have found its way into every aspect of our daily lives as a symbol of a more responsible, sustainable world. However, as our nation continues to pour millions of dollars into green technologies, is the possibility of a green lifestyle a truly sustainable idea?

Jonathan Spodek

Ball State Associate Professor of Architecture, Jonathan Spodek, believes it is and has spent the last 20 years building on his vision of a greener community—literally. Spodek specializes in rehabilitation construction techniques that use pre-existing (often abandoned) homes to create more eco-friendly structures.

Utilizing this knowledge, and seeing a need to address the growing number of abandoned homes in Muncie, Spodek, in true entrepreneurial spirit and together with Bill Morgan, Muncie's historic preservation officer, founded EcoREHAB, a not-for-profit organization. The new non-profit qualified for receiving an $85,000 Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Building on the HUD funding and in collaboration with EcoREHAB and the Muncie Unsafe Building Authority, the Ball Brothers Foundation funded Ball State with a $75,000 award to launch the city’s first EcoREHAB Model Home and Assistance Center under Spodek’s project direction. The major goals of the project are to:

1. Rehabilitate existing houses while promoting and following sustainable building practices.
2. Provide an immersive learning experience for Ball State University students.
3. Establish a design assistance center for private home owners and other non-profit entities that provide technical assistance in sustainable design.
4. Offer outreach training programs to communities, community development corporations, and individuals on methods of integrating similar programs.

Spodek and his dedicated team of students have already met their main objectives. In fall 2010, the first EcoREHAB home was built, and construction is already underway to develop a second EcoREHAB home.

Floor Plan A (click to enlarge)

Floor Plan B (click to enlarge)

With a focus on eco-friendly architecture, don’t expect to see “Jetsons”-inspired homes with fancy gizmos and equipment. Spodek explains, “It’s not just about expensive technology. When we’re finished, these are not million dollar showcase homes; they’re projects that are environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and affordable.” This, he believes, should be the ultimate goal of a building project and hopes to teach his students that good design goes beyond aesthetics. “Good design,” he says, “addresses a human need. A quality place to live is a fundamental need, and if we can accomplish that, that’s good design.”

More than just an in-class assignment, the project allows students to fully immerse themselves in what they’ve learned, something that Steve Herron, an architecture graduate student, really appreciates. “It’s about getting your hands dirty,” he said, “and learning through doing, as opposed to just reading and listening.” Historic Preservation major, Julie Collier, echoes these sentiments and adds, “I think sitting in a classroom can be stifling sometimes. It’s engaging to be in a nontraditional learning environment. At least for me, it has been a very beneficial experience.”




Of course rehabilitating existing abandoned homes into green homes does not come without its share of challenges—rotting wood, unstable roofing, and broken sewer lines, to name a few. However, for Spodek and his band of strong-willed students, this project not only represents a way to gain experience, but also symbolizes a tangible effort to help rebuild the infrastructure in some of Muncie’s most at-risk residential areas. “It’s really a great cause for the entire community of Muncie,” said Julie. “I think it’s a great thing Jonathan Spodek is doing and he just pours his whole life into it—it’s admirable. He expects a lot, but he gives a lot too.”

It is uncertain if the future rests solely on green technology, but at least for the city of Muncie, a professor and his students are committed to building a brighter future for their community—one home at a time.

You can find more information on this project on the BSU website at "Fighting Blight," or by contacting Professor Jonathan Spodek at 765-285-1919 or jspodek@bsu.edu.

From TheChronicle.com: How Your Grant Proposal Compares

Competition in the grant world is fierce. While a good idea is essential to a winning grant proposal, it certainly isn't enough to win. David A. Stone is director of the Office of Sponsored Projects at Northern Illinois University. In his article "How Your Grant Proposal Compares" from The Chronicle of Higher Education's July 29, 2009 edition, Stone gives some advice for newbies and seasoned professionals on how to effectively position your grant proposal and your idea so you stand a fighting chance.

Excerpt 
Integrate teaching and service into research proposals. The reach of well-positioned proposals extends beyond the scientific exercise itself. The clear expectation among grant agencies, large and small, is that research projects make an impact on the world around them. Two ways in which that can be demonstrated in a proposal are to reference integration of the project with teaching and service. The National Science Foundation, for example, requires that proposals demonstrate the ways in which students will be involved in and learn from research projects. It also anticipates that work done in the lab will find its way back to the classroom; the more explicit attention you give that transmission in the text of your proposal, the better.

Full Text: http://chronicle.com/article/How-Your-Grant-Proposal/47471/?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Searching for federal grants online

From The Grantsmanship Center's {CENTERED}
The federal government has put the Internet to work in many ways to increase access to grant information. Grantseekers will find several databases that aid in the search for federal dollars and detailed background information on specific grant programs.

Before starting a search, remember:

1. Federal grant funds are, in general, highly targeted. If you start the process thinking, "There has to be money for my project," you may be disappointed. Congress and the administration have their agendas for what they seek to accomplish through grant funding. Operating funds and funding for purely local projects are harder to find than funding for short-term projects that have the potential either to generate information or to speed the adoption of contemporary methods for dealing with entrenched problems.
2. There are many agencies, and they announce and process their grant applications in as many ways. It is important to think broadly, use your imagination, and be persistent.
3. Some of the programs you think belong in one agency are housed elsewhere. The Department of Labor has education money, the Department of Agriculture has economic development money, and the Army pays for medical research.
4. As useful as the databases are, they all have their limitations. It's important to recognize those limitations and try a variety of strategies.
5. Commercial publishers use the free federal databases to create their own publications. While these online newsletters can be helpful, they often provide no more information than is available on the free federal web sites, and they are out of date almost immediately.
6. Use search terms that are relatively broad and focus on the need and population of need, not on the specific methodology for which you are seeking funds.

The objective in your search is to find the federal agencies and departments with priorities that are aligned with your community's needs. You may find that they previously had grant programs that could have met your needs, but do not at this moment. Research on these agencies, and discussions with their staff, may provide leads on how your agency can access resources. The staff may point to another federal agency with similar programs. They may know of grants made to states that are supposed to be regranted at the local level.

NIH Policy Changes: A Summary

Policy Change/Update	Effective Date
All applications must be submitted in response to an funding opportunity announcement	9/25/10
New policy on post-submission application materials	9/25/10
Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement effective	10/1/10
Transparency Act reporting for all new awards	10/1/10
Multi-year funded award progress reports submitted electronically	12/22/10
Mandatory use of XTrain	1/1/11
New page limits for career awards	1/7/11
End of A2 submissions	1/7/11
Time limit for resubmissions	1/25/11
Adobe forms B1 required for F,K,T, and D apps	1/25/11
End of two-day error correction window	1/25/11
Expenditure data submitted via FFR	2/1/11
New reference letter due dates	4/8/11 and 6/12/11
Adobe forms B1 for all electronic apps	5/7/11
Late submission policy	n/a

**Taken from NIH Extramural Nexus Blog**

Workshop: Electronic Tools for Grantsmanship

Sponsored Programs Office and Bracken Library are combining forces to lead workshops for faculty and graduate students to learn about electronic tools for research and grantsmanship. Workshop sessions will apply to both faculty members and graduate students and will be held:

Friday, January 28, 2011 - 2:00-4:00 p.m.
This session will be held in Bracken Library Room 225.

Workshops will focus on the following information sources:

• Web of Science (searching literature/citation indices)
• Community of Science & GrantSelect(identifying funding opportunities)
• IRBNet (electronically submitting IRB protocols)

Web of Science, is a powerful database that indexes journals in the sciences, social sciences and humanities and enables users to search core journals for major researchers in your field, or search citations to articles.

COS and GrantSelect provide Ball State University with access to services that help you locate funding sources in all the academic disciplines, publicize your research online, and locate potential research collaborators.

IRBNet training will instruct users on how to successfully submit their research protocols electronically to the Institutional Review Board, the Animal Care and Use Committee, or the Institutional Biosafety Committee.

Presenters include Instructional Services Librarians Lisa Jarrell and Brenda Yates Habich, and Research Information Coordinator Augusta Wray.

If you are interested in attending either of these sessions, please register by clicking here.

Ball State Moves Up the Institutional Research Ladder

Ball State University has moved up in rank from being a "doctoral/research university" to a "high research university," according to the Carnegie Foundation, an organization that determines how research is classified at colleges and universities.

According to the Carnegie Foundation website, doctorate-granting institutions can be assigned to one of three categories based on a measure of research activity--very high, high, and doctoral/research universities. However, the site is careful to explain that institutions differ with respect to the level of research activity, not quality or importance and "while this approach is suitable for classification purposes, we do not believe the institution-level results should be used for institution-by-institution comparison and ranking."

Stan Geidel, program manager in the Sponsored Programs Office, concurs and explains that "It's more of a recognition of past achievements rather than future goals. It recognizes the nature of the work that has been going on at Ball State for the past few years and because of that work it has prompted the classification agency to reposition us into this middle classification."

The classification system includes all accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. For more information visit classifications.carnegiefoundation.org. You can read a feature article from the January 25th edition of The Star Press here.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Regional Seminar

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Regional Seminar

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Purdue University

March 30-31, 2011

Purdue University

Stewart Center, Room 214

West Lafayette, IN

The featured speaker is Jane Aikin, director of the Division of Research Programs at the NEH. Panelists will include Purdue faculty members experienced with the NEH proposal process.  This is an excellent opportunity for faculty from area colleges and universities to learn more about funding opportunities with the primary federal funder of research and scholarship in the humanities!

Day one sessions include:

• Overview of NEH mission and programs
• NEH review process, including a panel discussion on successful applications
• Individual meetings with attendees to discuss their research as it relates to NEH (on day one, priority for these sessions will be given to out-of-town participants)
• An evening reception that will allow participants to network with colleagues from Purdue and other institutions who conduct research in areas funded by NEH

Click here for full agenda.
Day two will be devoted to more individual meetings with faculty members.

Provost Immersive Learning Grants: March 1

Provost Immersive Learning Grant applications are due to the Provost's Office by 5:00 p.m. March 1st. Guidelines are available from the Provost's Office, Innovation in Teaching, Assessment, and Scholarship (ITAS), and individual department chairs. Please contact Jacquelyn Buckrop for a copy or see the ITAS homepage.

Additionally, two Open Forums are scheduled for anyone with questions regarding immersive learning and/or the grant application process. Forums are scheduled for:

• February 8th at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Center, Pineshelf Room, and 
• February 16th at 4:00 in the Student Center, Pineshelf Room

Student Symposium 2011 Registration Open!

16th Annual Student Symposium

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

2nd Floor, L.A. Pittenger Student Center

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

(Break: 2:30-3:00)

The annual Ball State University Student Symposium is approaching! The afternoon poster session provides a forum for students, faculty, and the community to discuss research efforts, to view creative works, and to examine the connection between special projects and education.

All BSU students are eligible: undergraduate, graduate, or those from Burris Laboratory School and Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, who have engaged in organized work either inside or outside the classroom, and who were advised by a Ball State faculty mentor.

All students are encouraged to participate in this event!

Please read the 2011 Student Symposium Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions before registering.

Click here to access the secure Registration Form.

All this information can also be accessed through the Sponsored Programs Office website at http://www.bsu.edu/spo .

A student must register to participate. The deadline for registration is 5:00 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2011.

Every student will receive a certificate recognizing his/her participation. In addition, cash prizes will be given for the most outstanding research or creative projects. Questions may be directed to Augusta Wray at SPO.BSU@gmail.com or to the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) at 285-1600.

Impressing with Smart Dressing

“Getting hired can really come down to your appearance. People are judging you before you even open your mouth and often do so within 30 seconds of meeting you.” -Sara Cole, Fashion Merchandising Major, Ball State University

When thinking about fashionable work attire, most people try to invest in the best brand name clothing available. However, for many American workers affected by the slow economy, these luxuries are often out of reach. In Muncie, Indiana the job market has suffered greatly from the economic recession, with unemployment reaching as high as 11.9 percent by mid 2009. With the rise in jobless claims, seeking fashionable clothing had been the last thing on the minds of the many out-of-work residents.

Concerned about the growing state of unemployment within their local community, Dr. Diana Saiki and Dr. Jinhee Nam of the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences at Ball State University decided to do something about it. Together they launched Smart Dressing: Learning Lessons from the Past to Make Wise Decisions in the Future, a program focusing on outreach to unemployed and low income groups within the Muncie community. Utilizing a three-phased approach, the researchers set out to help people learn how to look their best on a tight budget. 

“Initially the idea for the program came out of past research and presentations I did on workplace dress for low income groups” said Saiki, the program’s director. “For this project I wanted to make it more immersive and creative. I wanted to show that you don’t have to buy high-end only; you could use your imagination. I knew that an outreach program would be creative,” she said. Co-director Jinhee Nam further adds “When people normally shop, they tend to choose brands that they know and are accustomed to having. But those in the unemployed and low income community don’t have so much choice in selection.”

Determined to make a difference, Saiki and Nam partnered with  Muncie's TEAMwork for Quality Living, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, and the Ball State Beeman Historic Costume Collection to bring their vision into fruition. Their partnership with these organizations, in addition to the aid of more than 150 student volunteers, allowed them to make presentations to community groups such as WorkForce One and Future Choices. 

Central to the partnership was funding from Discovery, an organization that supports innovative, educational projects at Ball State University. Founded in 2002, the woman's philanthropy has made awards to over two dozen projects focused on Ball State's priorities. Saiki recalls conducting a demonstration for the proposal committee: “I remember when we did a presentation to Discovery and were wearing clothes we purchased and tailored. At the end of the presentation it really surprised the committee when they found out we were all wearing clothes from Goodwill!”

Since receiving funding in 2009, the team has already progressed through the first and second stages of their plan by launching an online exhibit and hosting a fashion show in fall of 2010. Community participants were given the opportunity to model professional work attire and keep the clothing they modeled as part of the Smart Dressing program.

Now on the third phase of the initiative, the team is putting together the final touches on their plan to establish a better work-dress program in partnership with the Muncie community. “It was exciting working with people from Ball State, especially with the students,” said community participant Angelic Wood. “While working with them, I was able to learn the rules of how to dress for an interview and how to select clothing that was the best fit and style for me. I’m dressing better now thanks to the program.” 

However, as much as community members have benefited from this effort, students would be the first to tell you of the growth they have also experienced as well.  Just ask Sara Cole, a junior fashion merchandising major at Ball State University:  “You know, when students first think about doing community work they dread it—I was first dreading it because I was thinking I’m busy, I’m a college student, I don’t have time for that. But once you are out there and you see how much you are helping people, you really start to enjoy it. That, I think, is something everybody should do. Getting out there and belonging to your community. If we all try to make a difference in the world it would be a brighter place.”

If you would like further information about this program, please feel free to contact Dr. Diana Saiki at (765) 285-2293 or by email at desaiki@bsu.edu. You may also contact Dr. Jinhee Nam at (765) 285-2177 or by email at jnam@bsu.edu. For additional information on funding opportunities at Ball State University, please visit the Sponsored Programs Office at www.bsu.edu/spo.