Bond Family Foundation Faculty Scholar Grants

The Greene Center is excited to announce the Bond Family Foundation Faculty Scholar Grants, a new opportunity for instructors in the School of Arts & Sciences and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to support the integration of career education and project-based learning into the classroom. Embedding career-related activities into courses helps students better connect and articulate how the concepts they learn relate to their professional development and career aspirations. Moreover, explicitly bringing career education into the classroom removes barriers that limit student access to experiential learning and further prepares students for success.

The Opportunity: Project-based learning (PBL) is an experiential high impact teaching and learning practice in which student teams design solutions to complex real-world problems by applying course content as an academic assignment. Interested faculty of undergraduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences can work with the Director of Career Curricular Initiatives, Dr. Lynn Donahue, to identify a good-fit organizational partner, course-relevant project, and meaningful assessment.

Grant Description and Requirements: Instructors of undergraduate students in the School of Arts & Sciences and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences can receive a stipend up to $4,500 through the Bond Family Foundation Faculty Scholar Grants. Funds can be used to compensate for instructional development time and operational needs such as transportation, food, honoraria, and materials. A program goal is to create additional opportunities for experiential learning in the sophomore and junior years. Stipend recipients will be required to:

  • Participate in PBL development meetings
  • Distribute the Greene Center PBL Student Impact Assessment and complete the Greene Center PBL Faculty Impact Assessment, including a summary of outcomes.
  • Submit samples of students’ PBL products.

Application Process: Interested applicants can submit an application here with a budget of anticipated needs. Please submit a separate application for each individual course you are proposing. Please also submit a tentative course syllabus (emailed separately to lynn.donahue@rochester.edu). All interested faculty will be contacted by Lynn Donahue to discuss their ideas. Please see the full program description for additional information.

Next Steps: The deadlines for 2025-2026 course stipends are as follows:

    • Applications open: January 1st – March 1st 
    • Notification of awards: March 15th
    • Development of partners and projects: June 15th

A review committee will review each application and applicants will be contacted by the deadline above. During this process, the Director of Career Curricular Initiatives will work with faculty to facilitate the development of an organizational partner and project and relevant assignments and assessment.

Questions? Please contact Lynn Donahue via email lynn.donahue@rochester.edu or by phone at 585-275-2366. Lynn Donahue spent 30 years in higher education with 20 of those serving as the founding Director of a Community-Engaged Learning program and consultant for faculty on pedagogy and partnerships. She was an adjunct for courses within Interdisciplinary Studies and Business departments and the Warner School, of which she is an alumna (Ed.D. 2001). Lynn counseled and ran programs on career development and is currently leading career curriculum, College Competency-building, and experiential initiatives in the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections.