WOX Grant Application Form for 2015
01/01/15
Please use this template for submission of your grant. Insert your cursor into the text box provided under each section
and begin typing. The box will expand and there is no character limit.
The completed WOX Grant Application must be emailed to simonm2@xavier.edu and a paper copy with appropriate
signatures mailed to Margie Simon, Alumni Building ML 5430 by 5 p.m. March 1, 2015.
NOTE: Proposal assistance is available through the Office of Grant Services. Please contact Shari Howell at 513-745-1904
or email at howells3@xavier.edu.
PROPOSAL FOR WOX GRANT
Include the following info in the following order:
Title of Proposed Project:
Summer ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Exploration) for Middle School Girls
Name of Each Applicant and Their Associated Position:
Dr. Janice B. Walker, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Assisted by:
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, Chair, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Ms. Mary Stroud, Instructor, Department of Chemistry
Dr. Heidrun Schmitzer, Professor, Department of Physics
Ms. Teresa Hardin, Administrative Assistant, Department of Mathematics and Computer
Science
Ms. Judy Molnar, Executive Director, Infrastructure and Technology Support
ALL appropriate signatures as outlined in the Guidelines for the WOX Grant Awards document.
For each approval needed, please type the person’s name, title, email address, and then have them physically
sign it.
Janice B. Walker
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
walker@xavier.edu
Carol Maegly (for Scott Chadwick)
Assistant Vice President for Provost Budget and Planning
Maegly@xavier.edu
ABSTRACT
Summarize your proposal request as indicated below:
HINT: The abstract may be the only part of the proposal the voter reads, so it is imperative that you sell your
project in this section. As this is a summary of your project, please limit this section to no more than ½ page.
Title of the Proposed Project:
Summer ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Exploration) for Middle School Girls
Amount Requested:
$9990.00 Year 1; $0.00 Year 2
Brief abstract that clearly and concisely states the aim of the project, anticipated value for XU students and/or
faculty and the indicators of success:
Funds are requested to help support Summer ICE (Innovation, Creativity and Exploration) camps for middle
school girls in July of 2015 and June of 2016. Each camp will host approximately 20 girls. Preference will be
given to girls of color and / or from low family income. Local high school girls and /or undergraduate women
at Xavier who have shown interest and talent in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) disciplines will serve as role models and assist the faculty and STEM professionals leading the
sessions. The activities will include special interactive sessions in science and computer labs as well as in the
new MakerBot 3-D printing lab. The girls will also work in small groups on projects that allow them to
develop their problem-solving skills, persistence and confidence. At the end of the week, the girls will
present the results of their team project in a formal program that will be videotaped (and shared with the
girls) and open to their friends and families. The goals of the camps are that the girls will be empowered and
inspired by their experiences to take more math, science and computer science courses in their schools, to
persist and succeed in these courses, and to explore these subjects on their own. This project allows women
faculty, staff and students at Xavier who care deeply about increasing the pipeline for girls to STEM careers
to take purposeful and meaningful action to help address the gender gap.
BUDGET
What is the amount of funding requested?
ITEM
Marketing/ Advert.
Food
Breakfast
Lunch
Snacks
Receptions
Polo Shirts
Honoraria
Student Assistants
Supplies
TOTAL COSTS
UNIT COST
# of PARTICIPANTS
TOTAL
$130
$4
$8
$5
$125
$15
$225
$250
40
50
40
$160
$400
$200
$250
$900
$2250
$2500
$3200
$9,990
60
10
10
•
•
•
•
•
•
Marketing and Advertising: Publicity costs will include postage and copying costs for producing
handouts for local middle school teachers. We will also publicize via email, school websites and
Facebook.
Food: At each morning session, a light breakfast (e.g. juice, bagels and yogurt) will be available to the
20 girls. Lunch (pizza/ sandwiches and drinks) will also be provided for the girls and about 5 others (1 or
2 student assistants and 3 facilitators) each day. Light snacks in the afternoon will round out the day.
Finally, at the end of the week, there will be a reception for friends and family for which an additional
$125 has been budgeted.
Polo Shirts: Polo shirts will be given to the 40 middle school girls and the remaining 20 shirts will be
divided among the student assistants (10) and the facilitators (10) for the two camps. If more are
needed, the dean and the Xavier faculty will purchase their own.
Honoraria: Each female professional who leads a session will be offered an honorarium of $220.
Unused funds (if a guest declines the honorarium) will go towards the purchase of additional materials
(e.g. books and supplies) for the middle school girls that may be taken with them when the camp
concludes.
Student Assistants: Each high school girl or undergraduate woman will be assigned to a group of 4
middle school girls to guide and assist them as they do their activities. Each student assistant will
receive a $250 honorarium (or appropriate fraction) for her work during the week.
Supplies: Supplies and equipment are necessary to complete the activities planned and they include
the following: Cubelets (set of ten for $280); modular robotics (2 at $600 each =$1200); Knex
renewable energy set (2 sets at $140 each = $280); remote controlled machines (10 sets at $70 each =
$700); electric circuit kits (10 kits at $40-$100 each = $400 to $1000); googles (40 at $10 each= $400);
and 2 x $300 = $600 (for 2 camps) for miscellaneous chemicals and other laboratory needs. We expect
to use almost all the supplies and equipment for both summer camps as well as for future camps.
 If a project's total budget is greater than $10,000, per year, other sources of support must be stated
and appropriate documentation from other funding partners must be provided.
NARRATIVE
“One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math, science,
and engineering. We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means
that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent…not being encouraged the way they need to.”
-- President Barack Obama, February 20, 2013
The development of talent in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is critical to
America’s global leadership. We must develop a diverse scientific community that utilizes more effectively the
gifts and talent of more than half of our population – girls and women. Girls should know that women in STEM
jobs earn 33% more than those in non-STEM jobs and are afforded a broad range of opportunities to innovate,
create and explore in ways that impact our lives and the world. Although girls are taking many STEM courses
at similar rates as their male peers in K-12 education and performing well overall, significant gaps persist for
minority and low-income students. Moreover, gender disparities emerge in higher education, even more so
with respect to racial / ethnic background and family income. While women earned more than 57% of the
bachelor’s degrees in 2013, they receive far fewer than half, especially in computer science (19.2%),
engineering (18.2%) and physics (19.1%) according to a report by the National Girls Collaborative Project.
Numerous studies on recruitment and retention of women in STEM have stressed the importance of female
role models. A primary goal of the ICE camp is therefore to expose the girls to women in STEM careers. In
particular, each day a female STEM professional will share her personal story with the girls before leading a
morning activity session in her field of study or career. These professional women will also help the middle
school girls see the full spectrum of opportunities afforded by STEM careers and recognize some of their
career-relevant skills. Girls will hear how their work impacts people and the world. At the end of the week, the
girls will be incentivized to keep their career options open by taking calculus, physics, chemistry, computer
science and engineering classes when available. In addition, high school girls and / or undergraduate women at
Xavier who are achieving at higher levels in STEM subjects will serve as assistants and engage with the middle
school girls and get to know them over the course of the week. Each student assistant will be assigned to a
group of 4 camp participants and will engage with that group throughout the week. This continuity will help
the girls feel comfortable as they do daily hands-on activities that might involve risk-taking and failure before
success is achieved. This structure will also encourage mentoring relationships that extend beyond the week.
The camp will also enable girls to see that they can learn from others and with others and that such learning is
powerful and lasting. They will spend part of the afternoon working on team projects to solve major real-world
problems. These activities will be carefully planned to be age-appropriate and to require steady progress. The
girls will learn how to overcome obstacles and failure and, by the end of the week, will have more confidence
that they can be successful and overcome challenges in their lives. The week will culminate in a reception on
Friday for friends and families. Each team of middle school girls and their mentor will present their team
project results. Parents who attend these presentations will be impressed by the work of the girls and become
more aware of the implicit bias of women in STEM fields. Parents can then resolve to be more conscious of the
messages they send to their daughters about their suitability for math, science and computer science.
Girls will be asked and given time to reflect upon their learning each day. This exercise should make more
apparent their perceptions and unconscious beliefs, enable them see their achievements, and cultivate
persistence and confidence. This self-reflection and exposure to role models, as well as scientific activities
taking place in a fun and comfortable atmosphere with the support of student and faculty mentors can only
enhance the confidence of these girls when they encounter opportunities to participate in STEM activities after
the camp ends.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Please answer the following questions in the associated boxes. Please limit your answers in total to no more
than two single-spaced, typed pages.
1. How does this proposed project enhance the mission and purpose of Women of Excellence?
The Xavier faculty and staff involved in this project will be able to support /exercise their academic passions
as well as grow as philanthropic leaders for the University. The camps will also provide opportunities for girls
to engage with and learn from the (female) student assistants who are interested in STEM fields and with
professional women in STEM careers. As a result of these interactions and the new knowledge gained, these
girls can further their development into becoming women of excellence.
2. How will this project further the mission of Xavier University to “engage and form students
intellectually, morally and spiritually, with rigor and compassion, toward lives of solidarity, service and
success?”
Xavier’s mission is educate. This mission is not limited to current students but includes the community in
which Xavier lives and is dedicated to give back to. For the duration of the camp – and hopefully beyond –
the girls are our students and our camp is aimed at forming them intellectually, morally and spiritually with
rigor and compassion as described in the mission statement above.
The project not only provides experience with STEM but also gives the girls exposure to a college campus. A
secondary but very real benefit is therefore the possibility that these girls would seriously consider Xavier as
a potential college home especially for studying a STEM discipline.
3. Why is this project important? Does it address a gap within existing University programs?
”Girls and boys do not significantly differ in their abilities in mathematics and science, but do differ in their
interest and confidence in STEM subjects. Male students are over three times more likely to be interested in
STEM majors and careers, compared to female students”.
---STEMconnector & My College Options (2013). Where are the STEM Students? What are their Career
Interests? Where are the STEM Jobs?
This project will help increase the pipeline for girls, especially minority and low-income, to take more STEM
courses, have more options, and (hopefully later) participate in greater numbers in STEM careers. In
addition, the camp experience will give the girls more confidence when participating in any endeavor that
requires persistence to succeed. The two camp sessions will have little direct impact on University
programs. However, the women facilitators will next look at underrepresentation of women in STEM
disciplines at Xavier and use what they learned from hosting the ICE camps as a platform to work on
retention and recruitment of female undergraduates and faculty in the STEM fields.
4. What is the expected outcome of your project? How many people (faculty, staff, students) will be
engaged in your project?
The goals of the camp are to motivate and inspire 20 middle school girls to study STEM subjects, to see the
career possibilities of working in these fields, to gain more confidence in their abilities and to learn strategies
for persistence during tough times. Each girl will leave empowered to explore and possibly continue
studying and learning in one or more of the STEM subjects.
Dean Janice Walker and three faculty will be facilitators for the camps:
Dr. Liz Johnson, Chair, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Dr. Heidrun Schmitzer, Associate Professor, Department of Physics (or designee)
Ms. Mary Stroud, Instructor, Department of Chemistry
Several women (Annette Marksberry, CIO; Judy Molnar (mentioned above); and Carol Maegly, Assistant
Vice President for Provost Budgets and Planning) have volunteered to help.
A staff member will coordinate the logistics for the camp:
Teresa Hardin, administrative assistant for the Mathematics and Computer Science Department
5 local high school girls and /or undergraduate women at Xavier interested in or studying a STEM discipline
will serve as student assistants in each camp.
5 STEM professional women in from various companies and academic institutions will conduct special
sessions (one per day) in each camp.
5. How will you measure the success of your project, if funded? What are the qualitative and
quantitative measures that you will use to assess impact and effectiveness?
Pre- and post-workshop surveys will be conducted to gauge quantitatively the girls’ attitudes and
beliefs about intelligence and STEM careers and about their levels of self-confidence. Secondly, the
girls’ daily written reflections will provide strong indicators of the impact and effectiveness of the
conversations and activities. Finally, academicians and / or professionals in STEM areas will be invited to
listen to the girls’ presentations and provide the facilitators with a qualitative assessment of the
presentations as well as of the girls’ perceived attitudes and confidence.
6. If your project is funded, how will the WOX Giving Circle be recognized as having played a role in the
success / completion of your project? Give specific examples.
There are a number of ways that the WOX Giving Circle would be recognized if the project is funded.
(1) POSTINGS: The WOX Giving Circle will be included in an announcement of the ICE camps that
would be posted on Cerkl, our new form of email communication, which has more than 6000
followers, mostly alumni. In addition, an announcement will be posted in the Xavier News, making
known the generosity of the WOX Giving Circle.
(2) DURING CAMP: The plans are to inscribe WOX (or the WOX Giving Circle) on the polo shirts. A
WOX representative will also be invited to attend the girls’ presentations where recognition of and
gratitude for WOX’s funding will be expressed in the presence of the girls and their guests.
(3) FOLLOWUP: A final report will be forwarded to WOX at the conclusion of each ICE camp, or (if
preferred) a presentation by the facilitators will be made to WOX members at a convenient time.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Use this section to add additional information or supporting arguments not covered in the sections above.
We, the team of women who have dared to dream about hosting these ICE camps, are confident that our
project will gain traction and that our success will attract more collaborators and supporters, enabling us to
touch the lives of even more girls and young women. There is no better time for ICE camps than now!