Grand Challenges Operations Milestones
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS AND INITAITIVES
Academic Affairs General Education Fellows, Grand Challenges. GC supported seven UNM general education instructors in infusing one or more of the challenge areas into their general education sections during the Fall of 2020 or Spring of 2021. Disciplines include: economics, history, chemistry, digital media, geography, education and honors.
COMM1130, Public Speaking. In Spring 2020, 58 COMM1130 students delivered and recorded speeches focused on the UNM Grand Challenges. Six were selected to receive “Excellence in Undergraduate Student Scholarship Awards, Grand Challenges.” Instructors were Evan Ashworth and Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour.
GC Coffee & Conversation Series. In Spring 2020, GC hosted two Grand Challenges Coffee & Conversations presentations with dialogue in the SUB. 40 stakeholders attended, including students, faculty, staff and community leaders.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Conference (UROC). During the period of UNM limited operations, the UROC steering committee opted to continue the annual UROC conference online, rather than in-person. Nearly 50 students submitted their posters and presentations online, 6 of which focused on GC. Four were selected to receive “Excellence in Undergraduate Student Scholarship Awards, Grand Challenges.”
Fine Arts Student Engagement. In Spring 2020, Peter Lisignoli (Lecturer III in Film and Digital Arts) worked with his documentary film students to develop short interview-based videos that help the public better understand the importance of the Successful Aging challenge. While this process was largely interrupted by stay-at-home orders, students did collaborate on Successful Aging, and several completed their videos.
CJ488, Strategic Planning and Campaign Development. In Spring 2020, GC worked with Associate Professor Judith White and 12 students to draft strategic marketing plans for each of the three challenge areas.
Through additional support from the Office of the Vice President for Research, GC is working with the Communications and Journalism department to support a Grand Challenges communications graduate assistant.
Shared Knowledge Conference. In Fall 2019, GC recognized the work of 16 graduate students whose work focused on one or more of the Grand Challenge areas.
GC Education Committee. The GC Education committee developed a comprehensive list of more than 40 educational strategies that could be implemented at various levels of funding. This list forms the master plan for building out new programming as money and human resources become available.
