Presidential Grant-In-Aid

Presidential Grants-in-Aid fund participation in professional development activities specifically intended to enhance a faculty member's skills in teaching, research or creative activity, or public service.

PGIAs fund the professional development of ETSU faculty.  Attending or presenting at professional meetings is not eligible for funding, but attending training workshops that are part of larger professional meetings is.  Requests to fund research projects should be submitted to the Research Development Committee, but support for acquiring the expertise needed to conduct research is PGIA-eligible.  Renewing certifications, credentials or licensure is not eligible for funding, but obtaining new certifications, credentials or licensure is.  PGIAs may fund proposals to increase teaching expertise, but they do not fund course redesigns, equipment, or instruction in specific courses.  Faculty should submit such proposals to the Instructional Development Committee.

Apply for PGIAs soon enough to use funds, if approved, to pay professional development registration fees and travel expenses.  Any expenses paid on your departmental Procard prior to receiving PGIA funding may not be eligible for reimbursement. Use your personal funds to pay any expenses that are required prior to PGIA funds availability. PGIA recipients must use the PGIA Procard maintained by the CTE Office to pay expenses.  If you charge airfare and registration fees to your department’s Procard, those expenses will be paid by your department, per the Procard policy.

Email the completed application as a Word file to Dr. Jill Channing at channing@etsu.edu. Please do not convert the Word file to pdf as the PGIA database cannot accept it in this form.

Please note: 
·         All full-time faculty are eligible to apply for PGIAs: Tenured, tenure track, research track, clinical track and lecturers.
·         If you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your PGIA application, check with Chelsea Gilbert at 423-439-8445.
·         Supporting material should be provided as a link in the document, an inserted image, or a scanned file(s) separate
          from the application.
·         Applicant, chair and dean signatures are not required at the time of submission, but will be needed before
          disbursement of the award.  However, material support or supporting statements from these individuals may 
          strengthen an application.

• 
  PGIA eligibility and selection criteria: Presidential Grant-in-Aid
• PGIA application form: Application Form
• 
  Quarterly submission deadlines: 
• 
  
  • May 24, 2024 for activity period July – September 2024
  • September 2, 2024 for activity period October – December 2024
  • November 18, 2024 for activity period January – March 2025
  • March 3, 2025 for activity period April – June 2025
    May 23, 2025 for activity period July -- September 2025
• Questions?  Email Dr. Jill Channing, Chair, PGIA Committee channing@etsu.edu

GRANT SUMMARIES

• FY 2024/25 Grant Summaries

  Sundance Film Festival

  Dr. Chelsea Wessels

  Film and Media Studies, College of Arts and Sciences

   

  Sundance Film Festival has been one of the premiere festivals for independent film in the United States since 1978. This year, I was selected as a first-time attendee to receive a Sundance Industry discounted pass, which offered the opportunity to screen 75 films as part of my programming work for the Bud Frank Cinema. Having advance access to films to bring to campus, many of which do not arrive at the festival with distribution, puts us in a privileged position for planning our 2025-2026 screenings, updating film courses with recent films, and screening films that might fit into my research projects.

   

  While I was not able to fit all 75 films into four days (even watching 24/7 for four days is not enough time for that!), I was able to screen a diverse range of films, including an experimental Colombian retelling of Dante’s Inferno (RAINS OVER BABEL), a film about a young goat farmer in North Macedonia who loves music (DJ AHMET), a stunning docu-fiction film about chosen family and horses in South Dakota (EAST OF WALL), and so many more. After watching as many films as physically possible, I have a list of films that I would be thrilled to secure for screenings at the Bud Frank Cinema, others that would enhance my film courses, and a few that I hope to incorporate into my research projects.

• FY 2023/24 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Mental Health First Aid Instructor Certification

  
  Christine M. Mullins, DNP, FNP-c, CNE
  College of Nursing (Graduate Program)

  Dr. Mullins used the Presidential-Grant-In-Aid funds to attend a three-day interactive online synchronous course for certification to teach Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).  MHFA is a national curriculum that teaches attendees to assist and support others who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge to prevent a mental health crisis. The instructor training prepared Dr. Mullins to teach the standardized content required for MHFA certification: five-step ALGEE Model (assess, listen, give reassurance/information, encourage professional help, and encourage self-help and other support), evidence-based treatment/self-help strategies, prevalence data, instructional guiding principles, technology for online delivery, curriculum concepts, curriculum fidelity, and policies/processes to deliver the course. Instructor certification required passing a comprehensive examination and a return demonstration teaching an assigned portion of content with one-on-one feedback from peers and a national training expert.  Dr. Mullins was granted instructor certification upon completion. She plans to deliver the course in the College of Nursing for students/faculty and the local/regional community. After completing the course, faculty expressed interest in adding MHFA Certification for a proposed undergraduate nursing course that will be coming soon.    

   

   

   

   Stellar Magnetic Fields from Protostars to Supernovae Workshop

  Christi Erba
  Physics and Astronomy 

  The Presidential Grant-in-Aid award enabled my attendance at the workshop “Stellar Magnetic Fields from Protostars to Supernovae,” at the Munich Institute for Astro-, Particle and BioPhysics (MIAPbP) in October 2023. MIAPbP hosts training workshops for researchers-in-residence for up to one month, with several diverse topical workshops offered each year. The stellar magnetic fields workshop is the first of its kind, bringing together scientists at all career stages who work in the field of stellar magnetism at all stages of stellar evolution.

   The workshop created an opportunity for me (as an early-career researcher) to develop my expertise and to broadly expand my international network of collaborators. Each day, we gathered for a short ( 2hr) “class” on a topic of relevance to the weekly theme. These informational sessions served as the groundwork for breakout discussion panels, organically organized each afternoon by and for the workshop participants to delve further into the actively open questions at the forefront of our field. The extended (2 week) trip created enough space and time to work with colleagues to develop active manuscripts and grant proposals, and to inspire additional projects that will be pursued over the next 12-24 months. I am grateful to the PGIA program for enabling this opportunity, which would not have been possible without the support of the grant. My overall experience with the PGIA and its committee has been very positive, and I highly recommend the program to other faculty participants in the future. 

• FY 2022/23 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Intensive Data and Analytics Workshop presented by the American Accounting Association (AAA)

  
  Emily Cokeley
  Accountancy

  Dr. Cokeley used the PGIA funds to attend an Intensive Data and Analytics Workshop presented by the American Accounting Association (AAA). The workshop focused on data cleansing, data analytics, data visualization, and more. During this intensive four-day hands-on workshop, Dr. Cokeley was able to enhance her data and analytics skills, learn about and how to use new data analytics software programs, and find ways to bring data analytics into the classroom to enhance student skills.

• FY 2021/22 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Human Remains Recovery Course

  
  Emilie Cook
  College of Medicine

  Dr. Cook used the PGIA funds to attend a hands-on workshop to help the participant gain more experience in locating and recovering skeletal remains. The course highlights included methods for excavation and mapping of a crime scene. She attended two days of indoor training and two and a half days of outdoor training on body excavation. It was a spectacular experience where she learned to properly excavate a gravesite while safely retaining evidence. The class also learned different approaches to doing a surface plot for bones and evidence. Dr. Cook presented at pathology grand rounds in March on her experience.

   

   

• FY 2020/21 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Wilderness Training Collaborations with the Natural World

  
  Bethany Novotny
  Clemmer College

  Dr. Novotny used the PGIA funds to attend The Wilderness Therapy Training Collaborations with the Natural World in Lyons, Colorado. The training was nothing short of incredible. She learned so much and everything that she took away from the experience is easily applicable to the Nature-based graduate certificate and research that is being developed.

   

   

  

   

  

• FY 2019/20 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Training in Worldwide Rural Health

  
  Emily Flores
  College of Pharmacy

  Dr. Flores used the PGIA funds to attend The World Rural Health Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the conference she was able to learn how other universities worldwide are training future rural health care providers, complete a workshop on stabilizing the unstable patient in low resource settings, attend training on emergency response scenarios, complete a fireld visit to a pueblo to learn about native American/indigenous health, and network with policymakers as well as individuals that serve in remote islands and other rural areas.
  
  
  
  

  

   

   

• FY 2018/19 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Training in Groundwater Hydrology Field Methods

  
  Ingrid Luffman
  Geosciences

  Dr. Luffman used the Presidential-Grants-In-Aid funds to attend a two-week training course in Groundwater Sampling and Monitoring and Remediation Design and Implementation, held at Western Michigan State University. She spent two weeks in class and in the field sampling wells, touring sites, and developing  a remediation plan for an impacted site along the Kalamazoon River. She plans to incorporate new industry standard field sampling technigues into her hydrology course to better prepare students for careers in environmental consulting or regulation.

   

  

   

  Humanities Intensive Learning and Teaching Training

  
  Julie Fox-Horton
  Continuing Studies / Archival Studies
  
  
  
  
  

  Dr. Fox-Horton used the Presidential-Grant-in-Aid funds to attend a week-long Humanities Intensive Learning and Teaching training held at the University of Pennsylvania. During this training she took a course titled "Digital Surrogates: Representation, Engagement, and Meaning," where, in conjunction with other faculty and professionals working in various fields using artifacts and curation, discussed issues related to the ethical decisions of digitizing materials, as well as the technical framework for conducting such work. Hands-on experience took place at the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image Lab at the University where participants were able to look at different types of materials and unravel the challenges of digitizing, as well as the workflow involved in undertaking digitization projects. During this experience Dr. Fox-Horton gained valuable experience in the digitization of  materials that she is using to create and implement a new course offering at ETSU for the Archival Studies Program titled "Digital Archiving."

• FY 2017/18 GRANT SUMMARIES

  Consort Collective

  
  Lee Bidgood
  Appalachian Studies

  
  Dr. Bidgood used the Presidential-Grant-in-Aid funds to attend the Consort Collective at the 2017 Viola da Gamba Society of American Conclave workshop.  In his guided classwork he was coaching and being coached in consort groups working at a very high level, with many of the participants being working professional musicians.  This experience was a valuable re-steeping in the viola da gamba world and an introduction to how it happens in a summer workshop context, and has already proven helpful in his ensemble coaching.  Here is a link to a video from the Consort Collective final concert featuring a "standard" consort piece, a Fantasia for five viols by Deering:  https://vimeo.com/239922609.

  Research and Professional Development in Teaching

   

  Cara Harker
  Theatre & Dance

  Ms. Harker traveled to the International Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, CO with PGIA funds. The conference, hosted by Frequent Flyers Productions, Inc. under the direction of aerial dance pioneer, Nancy Smith, provided the opportunity to learn technique and best practices in aerial dance from world renowned master faculty in a hands-on experiential learning environment.  During Harker's stay, she took courses in Rope and Harness, Lyra, and Mixed Aerial Apparatus (Silks, Sling, Trapeze, and Trapeze Lyra), taught by Valerie Morris, Sarah Romanowsky, and Angela Desanter.  The conference offered up-to-date methods from widely respected aerial practitioners and her participation has enhanced the scope and quality of teaching at ETSU.

• FY 2016/17 GRANT SUMMARIES

  NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) Certification

  
  Kara Boynewicz
  Physical Therapy

  The grant funds were used to fulfill established reliability testing through The Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk which was established at the Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.  This certification entails use of neurobehavioral assessment for normal healthy infants, preterm infants and infants at risk due to factors such as prenatal substance exposure. It has links potential research collaborators interested in this area by demonstrating advanced competency in evidence based assessment of infants with substance exposure. This will enhance future research efforts by applying knowledge gained from certification to provide clinical context for infants and families, the medical community and various establishments in the community for translation of  neurobehavioral issues in infants born substance exposed, as well as pre-term infants.  

  Certificate Program in Health Care Finance for Nurse Executives

  
  Nancy Cameron
  Nursing

  The certificate program in Health Care Finance for Nurse Executives was designed by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) to provide the financial and operational knowledge/skills that nursing leadership need in order to manage today's healthcare market.  As the faculty member responsible for ensuring that our graduates are adequately prepared to enter middle and senior leadership positions in health care organizations and to excel in the challenges of managing patient care and financial efficiency, Dr. Cameron plans to revise two graduate level courses in health care finance for nurse executives. Revisions will be designed to better emphasize the financial requirements/impacts of the ACA and how clinical and financial operations must work together.  

  Pal's Business Excellence Institute (BEI) LEAN for Service & Healthcare Course

  
  Jennifer Hunt
  Public Health

  Pal’s Business Excellence Institute (BEI) is a training and consulting branch of Pal’s Sudden Service, training companies on principles of LEAN management and how Pal’s has successfully implemented the practices in their business structure with a focus on process excellence, workforce capability, and leadership development.  The session for this training included topic discussions on LEAN, how to identify waste, several LEAN tools (5s, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Aide Implementation, etc.), store tour for example of LEAN implementation, how to apply learning to an individual’s particular industry, and development of action plans. Ms. Hunt teaches Quality Utilization and Assurance and was interested in learning different ways of presenting the materials to students to increase and enhance their understanding of QI principles and practices.  

  Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Preceptorship

  
  Judy McCook
  Nursing

  

   

  ETSU is developing a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) to provide care to ETSU sexual assault survivors.  The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) is the primary health care provider who performs a physical exam, collects forensic evidence, provides testimony if indicated, and implements trauma-informed patient-centered care.   This grant provided funding to attend a clinical preceptorship at the University of Colorado Memorial Hospital, which supplied training for SANEs in completing adult sexual assault exams and collecting evidence for victims of intimate partner violence, elder abuse, child abuse and sex trafficking.  This preceptorship has shaped the policy, protocols, procedures, and the quality of care our survivors will receive at the ETSU Student and University Health Clinic.

  Salivary Bioscience Research Training Workshop

  
  Diana Morelen
  Psychology

  Dr. Morelen attended "Spit Camp;" a small group hands-on workshop at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at the University of California, Irvine.  The workshop is designed to teach individuals (e.g. early career scientists) skills for using salivary research methods as principal investigators. It provided the opportunity for attendees to collect, store, assay, and analyze their own saliva samples, and experience what is like for a research participant, understand the nuances of saliva research, and discuss study design within an experiential framework.

  

   

  Master Class in Cinematography from the American Society of Cinematographers

  
  Rustam Sheridan
  Mass Communication

  The American Society of Cinematographers is one of the most prestigious and exclusive organizations for cinematographers in the world.  The ASC Master Class is a hands-on seminar on cinematography taught in Hollywood by a faculty of numerous Oscar-winning ASC cinematographers.  Mr. Sheridan was approved for enrollment by the ASC, where he was able to use cutting-edge equipment, tour amazing production and post-production facilities, and made many new relationships with professionals working in the industry.  There were several presentations on technical specifications from engineers and computer scientists, including one on green screen keying in narrative film work. As the grand prize award winner from class, Mr. Sheridan and his wife got to attend the 31st ASC Awards Show in Hollywood.

  

OTHER PREVIOUS GRANT RECIPIENTS

• FY2022/23

   

  Florence Weierbach Nursing Leadership Development to Advance Equity in Health Care Continuing Education Course

• FY2021/22

   

  Emily Cook
  Pathology

  Human Remains Recovery Course

  Cara Harker
  
  Theatre & Dance

  Research and Professional Development in Teaching

  Chris Pritchett
  Health Sciences
  
  

  Vaccine Research

  Mickey White
  
  Counseling and Human Services

  Coursework to Complete Gender ASSET Training and Increase Competency Working with Transgender Clients

• FY2020/21

   

  Lisa Dunkley
  Counseling & Human Services
  
  

  Certification as a Certified Diversity Executive

  Julie Fox-Horton
  Cross Disciplinary Studies

  Digital Curation: Fundamentals and Sustainability
  
  
  

   

  Ying Li
  Environmental Health
  
  

  Environmental Health Risk: Analysis and Applications

  Deidra Rogers
  Counseling & Human Services
  
  

  Certificate in Service Learning offered by National Youth Leadership Council

• FY2019/20

   

  Katie Baker
  Community & Behavioral Health

  Qualitative Research Summer Intensive

  Emily Flores
  
  Pharmacy Practice
  

  Training in worldwide rural health

  Bradley Fugate
  
  Theatre and Dance
  

  Alexander Technique Certification Program

  Scott Koterbay
  
  Art & Design
  

  Curatorial training in conjunction with archival and experiential learning in support of ongoing research

  Sage Perrott
  
  Art & Design
  

  Risograph workshop/training
• FY2018/19

   

  Patricia Mink
  Art & Design
  
  

  Training on TC-2 Digital Jaquard Loom

  Kerry Proctor-Williams
  Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
  
  

  Infant and Pediatric Swallowing and Feeding Education

  Arshak "Alex" Sargsyan
               Nursing

  Summer Genetics Institute offered by the National Institute of Nursing Research

  Moin Uddin
  Engineering, Engineering Technology & Surveying
  
  

  Integration of Big Data Analytics in Graduate Program

   

• FY2017/18

   

  

  Julia Bernard
  Counseling & Human Services

  Certification as Mental Health First Aid Trainer

  

  Lee Bidgood
  Appalachian Studies

  Enrollment in the Consort Collective Program at the Viola da Gamba Society of America Conclave

  

  Cara Harker
  Theatre & Dance

  Research & Professional Development in Teaching

  

  Delanna Reed
  Communication & Performance

  Storytelling Workshop

  

  Theresa Stephens
  Nursing

  Compassionate Interviewing & Authoethnographic Research Methods

  

  Stacey Williams
  Psychology

  Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Training

   

   

   

   
• FY2016/17

  

  Kara Boynewicz
  Physical Therapy

  NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) Certification

   Nancy Cameron
  Nursing-Graduate Programs

  Certificate Program in Health Care Finance for Nurse Executives

  

  Jennifer Hunt
  Health Services
  Management & Policy

  Pal's Business Excellence Institute (BEI) LEAN for Service & Healthcare Course

  

  Judy McCook
  Nursing

  Clinical Preceptorship for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

   

  Diana Morelen
  Psychology

  Salivary Bioscience Research Training Workshop

   

  Rustam Sheridan
  Mass Communication

  Master Class in Cinematography from American Society of Cinematographers

   

   
• FY2015/16

  

  Mira Gerard
  Art & Design

  Enroll in Art + Technology: Transmedia Course at The Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia, Athens

  

  Jennifer Hunt
  Health Services Management & Policy

  Attend POGIL Project Workshop

  

  Jennifer Hunt
  Health Services Management & Policy

  TN Center for Performance Excellence training for NCPE Examiner

  

  Mohammad Uddin
  Engineering Technology, Surveying & Digital Media

  Building Energy Modeling Workshop

  

  Craig Wassinger
  Physical Therapy

  Therapeutic Pain Specialist Certification

   

   

   

  .