SLCC Wins NEH Grant to Host Institute

Salt Lake Community College received $189,000 from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) to host a Summer Institute in 2018 for College and University Faculty. The four-week Institute will explore how transformations in the book can change interactions between bodies of knowledge and individual human bodies, providing hands-on instruction for participants with digital and print text production in SLCC's Publication Center.

"This grant is significant because it is only the second award SLCC has ever received from NEH, and not many community colleges receive these awards," said Nicole Omer, director of SLCC's Office of Sponsored Projects.

Approximately 25 participants will hear from renowned scholars from across the country, led by SLCC project leaders Melissa Helquist, Lisa Bickmore and Charlotte Howe. Participants will explore book history and explore new modes of publication, including techniques to more effectively address the needs of people with disabilities. The Institute will provide undergraduate Humanities faculty methods for incorporating book making and publishing into their curriculum. Part of the selection criteria for which faculty members from around the country will be evaluated in order to participate will be how well they can expect to it integrate what they learn into their teaching.

"While the grant includes universities, it will also provide enhanced development opportunities for community college faculty nationally and improve SLCC's national visibility, "said Melissa Helquist, associate professor and director of the SLCC Community Writing Center. "The impact to students, albeit indirect, will be powerful."

This award supports SLCC's efforts to be more inclusive toward and improve access to higher education for underrepresented populations. It also supports SLCC's mission to create educational pathways leading to meaningful employment. Participants will learn how to engage students using the Publication Center's high-impact practices, which include hands-on opportunities for learning and development of workplace skills.

Salt Lake Community College is an accredited, student-focused, comprehensive community college meeting the diverse needs of the Salt Lake community. Home to more than 60,000 students each year, the College is Utah's leading provider of workforce development programs. SLCC is also the largest supplier of transfer students to Utah's four-year institutions and a perennial Top 10 college nationally for total associate degrees awarded. The College is the sole provider of applied technology courses in the Salt Lake area, with multiple locations, an eCampus, and nearly 1,000 continuing education sites located throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Personal attention from an excellent faculty is paramount at the College, which maintains an average class size of 20.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this release, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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