MIHIG Awardees Luncheon
April 23, 2007
 The Office of the Vice President for Academic Initiatives & Partnerships sponsored a luncheon this past spring, honoring the 42 current Make It Happen! Innovation Grant awardees.
The luncheon, held on April 23, 2007 in the Rockville Theatre Arts Arena, allowed the grant recipients to network with each other and learn more about the progress of their fellow peers’ projects.
The Make It Happen! Innovation Grant (MIHIG) program began in the fall of 2005 as a way for faculty and staff to fund projects that are directly related to the tenets of the Learning College. Grants range in amounts from $500-$3,500, depending on the size and scope of the project. All grants serve as seed money for the projects that improve, advance, and enrich student learning.
Three cycles of applications have already been funded and implemented, and these projects – which meet student needs and measure student achievement – are at various degrees of completion.
 A good number of awardees attended the Grant luncheon, and listened to Dr. Brian K. Johnson, Montgomery College president, as he spoke about the importance of these grants. He expressed to those attending that he found the thoroughness of the grants to be a “fascinating example of innovation and creativity.” They were further proof to him, he said, that leadership exists at every level of this institution.
“These grants represent a wonderful way to acknowledge the achievements of all of you,” he said.
Just days before the luncheon, The New York Times named Montgomery College one of the top community colleges in the country, and such was on the minds of College administrators as they reflected on the grants’ roles in making that distinction.
 Dr. Mary Kay Shartle-Galotto, executive vice president for academic and student services, mentioned that what made community colleges special in those rankings was the existence of learning communities, small classes with quality faculty, strong articulation agreements, and strong honors programs. She remembered that years ago someone approached her with the simple idea of forming a Rockville honors program, in much the same way that today’s grant-recipients have their ideas. That small idea blossomed to the current Montgomery Scholars program, and she sees examples of this inspiration in every MIHIG project placed before her.
“A lot of energy is present here,” she revealed, crediting David Sears, vice president for institutional advancement, and his $25,000 funding from the Montgomery College Foundation with turning that energy into proven programs of expression.
Dr. Johnson agreed.
 “This is really the reason that The New York Times could not look in any other direction,” Johnson said.
Following the presentations, grant recipients had the opportunity to speak to those in attendance and explain how they utilized their grant money and how their seed money bore successful fruit.
But before they did that, Dr. Rita Kranidis, Rockville English professor, spoke in detail about her Writing in the Disciplines collegewide initiative, an idea that started as a small MIHIG request for books to facilitate an online faculty discussion group. That one request grew with each grant cycle, and today Dr. Kranidis works with the Center for Teaching and Learning to implement faculty fellowships that assist instructors as they address the writing needs of their individual disciplines. It was the enthusiasm she expressed as the project began that makes Kranidis’ experience such a success story.
“I can think of no other grant that has touched students more both now and in the long-term,” said Dr. Clarice Somersall, vice president for academic and learning effectiveness.
 
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