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3M grant brings Luther and Winneshiek area high schools together

Date 12/7/2000 12:00 AM | Topic: News

A three-year 3M Foundation Vision Grant encouraging the collaboration between Luther College and Winneshiek County schools is in its fourth year, and its future is currently unknown, said Lori Gant, program director of PARTNERS (Pairing Educational Resources to Nurture Educational Revitalization) in Education.

According to Gant, the 3M company gave approximately $48,000 to Luther College.

Gant said Luther funds were used to support a portion of the project director's salary during the three years.

According to Gant, the money was to be spent over three years, but, after three years, some money was still available.

However, Gant predicts that all of the 3M money will be gone after this year.

"We're looking into the possibility of Luther or an outside source picking up the project," said Gant. "The future of the project is in discussion."

According to Gant, the Winneshiek County schools involved are Decorah High School, North Winneshiek High School, South Winneshiek High School, and Crestwood High School.

If high school teachers at these schools think of a way to collaborate with Luther College to teach students, they can apply for the grant, Gant said. If the school is given the grant, the high school teachers get $250 to spend in the way proposed in the application.

This money is helpful to public schools in northeast Iowa, where the enrollment continues to drop, and schools are allotted money based on enrollment, Gant said.

Any expenses Luther faculty or student groups incur while participating in the project are covered by the 3M account, Gant said. In addition to having all expenses paid, Gant deposits $100 into the faculty development account of any Luther professor participating in the project and $50 into participating student groups' organization accounts.

According to the 3M Web site, Luther is one of six U.S. liberal arts colleges "launching new programs that connect student and faculty learning to the world beyond the campus."

Luther faculty and staff who helped develop and implement the program are Liang Chee Wee, associate professor of management information systems, Charlotte Kunkel, assistant professor of sociology, Charles Christianson, associate professor of accounting and management, and Jeanie Lovell, director of corporate and foundation relations.

The first year of the program, Gant said her work was mainly administrative, but she is now involved with all steps of the program.

An example of a project was the joining of a Luther media class instructed by Martin Klammer, associate professor of English and Africana studies, and a North Winneshiek High School English class instructed by Evan Abbey ('98).

On Nov. 8, the two classes went on a field trip together to visit the La Crosse Tribune in La Crosse, Wis.

Klammer said he appreciated the "rare opportunity for all of us to hear from a newspaper editor the morning after he had to change the front-page headline three times on the presidential election."

According to Klammer, the two student groups worked together on writing projects during the bus trip to and from La Crosse.

The students came together at Luther College Nov. 28 to discuss journalism ethics. Gant observed the class discussion.

"To see the connection is just invaluable," Gant said. "That's what's really touched me."

The other five 1997 recipients of the grant are Centre College in Danville, Ky.; College of Holy Cross in Worchester, Mass.; Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn.; St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.; and Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.

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Jenny Welp
Chips News Co-Editor

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