Elon staff, faculty win funding grants

A study of women’s views of mothering and the establishment of a campus coalition to promote healthy lifestyle choices will both benefit from grants received recently by two Elon staff members.

A $7,000 award from The Wabash Center will allow Toddie Peters, assistant professor of religious studies, to continue her research into the understanding women have of their moral roles as mothers. In her proposal, Peters says, “While issues of family, parenting, and motherhood have been addressed as theological issues, they have not been adequately addressed in teh field of Christian ethics. A project that uses the moral agency of women as mothers as a starting point for ethical reflection and as a basis for engaging in public policy issues related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing will offer a new and significant voice to these debates.”

Resa Walch (Assistant Professor of HPLHP and Director of Substance Education), Melissa Murphey (Director of Greek Life), and Julie Schuldt (Assistant Director of Campus Recreation) received a $13,000 grant for Elon to participate in the “Collaborative Alcohol Management Project for University Success.” C..A.M.P.U.S. is a statewide initiative for colleges and universities to create partnerships to implement policies and programs that reduce high-risk behaviors related to alcohol use. Using the environmental approach to risk reduction, Elon will form a campus-community coalition and implement a strategic plan that includes further infusing alcohol issues into the curriculum, social marketing, communicating expectations and policies/laws, and sharing best practices with other funded schools.

Funds for CAMPUS (Collaborative Alcohol Management Project for University Success) are provided by the Substance Abuse Services Section of the NC Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It is administered by the Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, a private, nonprofit organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Both grant proposals received assistance from Bonnie Smith, director of sponsored programs. Smith’s office works closely with faculty to identify potential funding sources and and grant opportunities.