College Grants

Northwest Vista College seeks external funding opportunities to enhance, expand, and cultivate a strong learning environment for students, faculty, staff, and community partners.

Grant funds awarded and received are managed in accordance with guidelines provided by the external funding agencies in accordance with standard procedures and federal regulations.

 

For more information, contact:

Judy Camargo
Director of College Grants and Development
jcamargo@alamo.edu
210-486-4951

 

Recently Awarded Grants at Northwest Vista College listed in order of award date, newest to oldest 

 

PLUS+STEM Project

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education
Award Amount: $5 million
Cycle: 2022 - 2027
Project Director/ Principle Investigator: Dr. Prakash Nair
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Claudia Verdin
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Thomas Pressly

The PLUS+STEM Project serves students through workshops, supplemental instruction, paid research internships with stipends of up to $4200, advanced STEM equipment, mentoring, symposiums, forums, mental health support, and high school outreach.

The project will also work with area four-year institutions of higher education to enhance STEM articulation agreements, to help create a smoother transfer process for NVC STEM students seeking to advance their educational careers.

 

Project FUERTE: Fostering Undergraduate Education, Retention and Transfer Environments

Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Award Amount:
Cycle:
St. Mary’s University Project Director/Director/Principle Investigator: Dr. Juan Ocampo
NVC Co-principle Investigator: Dr. Thomas Pressly
NVC Co-principle Investigator: Dr. Mary Zocchi

The NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program grant awarded to St. Mary’s will help implement Project FUERTE: Fostering Undergraduate Education, Retention and Transfer Environments. The purpose of the grant is to increase the Latinx STEM field transfer to and graduation rate from St. Mary’s University.

Check from NSF

Dr. Juan Ocampo, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at St. Mary’s University, will serve as the principle investigator (PI) for the entire grant project. Dr. Thomas Pressly, coordinator of the NVC Engineering program, will serve as the NVC principle investigator, coordinating curriculum alignment efforts, enhancements of transfer agreements, faculty training, and curriculum development in the NVC STEM areas.

Dr. Mary Zocchi, with her vast background in STEM education and NSF experience, will serve as the NVC co-principle investigator, and will collect and analyze the data outcomes from the NVC research side, conduct student focus groups, and work with St Mary’s to develop the andragogical (the methods or techniques use

d to adult education) strategies and the design of the educational environment.

 

National Science Foundation Geology Grant

NVC will partner under UTSA in a National Science Foundation grant targeted to create more awareness of geology fields and careers, and a make a smoother transfer process for NVC’s students wishing to pursue geology studies at UTSA. NVC’s Geology Coordinator Dustin Smyth will lead the NVC efforts on this grant.

EcoLab Geology Site

 

College Readiness and Completion Models Program

Funding Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Award Amount: $100,000
Cycle:
Project Director/Director/Principle Investigator: Caroline Kuyumcuoglu
Co-principle Investigator:
Co-principle Investigator:

NVC was recently awarded a $100,000 grant to help students take advantage of supplemental instruction/tutoring and academic support embedded in co-requisite courses. The goals of the 2021 College Readiness and Completion Models Program is to implement, enhance, and scale best practices that impact college readiness and completion. This grant will also help students navigate learning in a COVID-environment. It will connect students to college resources and equip them with better organizational and academic skills through one-on-one mentoring sessions and weekly group workshops facilitated by an academic peer coach. NVC’s Caroline Kuyumcuoglu will help lead this grant’s efforts.