Dear MSU Community,
This fall, the Montana State University Outreach and Engagement Council
launched Montana State's first-ever seed-grant program to promote outreach
and engagement activities involving faculty, students and staff in collaboration
with local and regional partners.
The council invited proposals for grants that would address the needs of
citizens in Montana and beyond and that would encourage external and
multidisciplinary partnerships. When the proposal deadline arrived, council
members were delighted to see numerous applications and ideas--far more
than had been anticipated. Further, project ideas represented dozens of
disciplines and community partners across the state.
After careful consideration of all of the proposals, four projects were chosen to
receive an award of $5,000 each. Every project selected for seed-grant
funding embraced the spirit of engagement and integration, combining the
needs and resources of community partners with the talents and energy of
MSU faculty, staff and students. Importantly, all four projects will help
advance MSU's land-grant mission of working in concert with community
partners to improve Montana's communities.
Along with the Outreach and Engagement Council, I am pleased to announce
the following seed-grant awardees, along with a brief description of the
awardees' projects:
 Christine Stanton, assistant professor in the Department of Education,
and Lucia Ricciardelli, assistant professor in the School of Film and
Photography. Stanton and Ricciardelli are collaborating with Blackfeet
Community College on "Piikani Digital Storywork," a project that
collects digital stories from the Blackfeet tribal community. Through
the project, students and faculty at BCC and at Blackfeet Academy
high school will learn filmmaking techniques from MSU students and
faculty, who, in turn, are engaged in culturally responsive, communitycentered filmmaking and education.
 Christa Merzdorf, associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology
and Neuroscience. Merzdorf is collaborating with Montana's Aaniih
Nakoda College in Harlem and Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer to
bring tribal college and MSU students together as student-teachers for
an intensive research practices course for undergraduates. The one-
week research course was taught by MSU faculty last summer; the
expansion will allow tribal college and MSU students who are actively
participating in research to share their skills with fellow students and
learn about each others' cultures.
 Kalli Decker, assistant professor in the Department of Education.
Decker will collaborate with Montana's Department of Health and
Human Services to study the effectiveness of support services for
families of children with disabilities. Currently, state programs offer
support services to families, enforcing the importance of early
intervention for children with disabilities. However, resources are not
available to provide in-depth feedback from the families regarding how
well the services are working. MSU students will be trained to conduct
interviews with families in rural communities in order to provide critical
data to early childhood professionals.
 Angela Weikert, education and public programs director at the Museum
of the Rockies. Weikert will partner with the Carter County Museum
and a Carter County High School mathematics teacher to develop a
collaborative education program called the "Mobile MAIA Science Lab."
Students in rural communities will measure the bones of cattle, chicken
and the dinosaur Maiaisaura in order to better understand the
mathematical and biological concepts of growth curves while
connecting with Montana's agricultural economy and rich fossil history.
We are excited to see such a strong response to this inaugural program and
are inspired by the dedication, collaborative spirit and ingenuity of MSU's
faculty, students and staff.
With warm regards,
Waded Cruzado
President