Dakota State awarded planning grant from DOE

Dakota State University recently received a planning grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will enable campus officials to produce a proposal for a larger grant.

Marilyn Fowle, DSU vice president for business and administrative services, said the $34,952 Strengthening Institutions Program grant will allow DSU to assemble a committee that will plan and put together an application for a Title III development grant.

Grant funding becomes available Oct. 1of this year and runs through Sept. 30, 2003.

"It (the grant) provides us the money to put some people on writing that grant proposal," Fowle said.

The Title III grant is also through the Department of Education's Strengthening Institutions program. Dakota State would be applying for between $1 million and $2 million over a five-year period.

“This is a shot in the arm for us to get the people together,” Fowle said. “It's a good sign that they see we can use the help and we're a strong institution.”

DSU President Jerry Tunheim said the grant will allow DSU to plan not only for the grant but also for the institution.

“This planning grant is an opportunity to prepare the proposal for a larger grant, and it also allows us to spend some time assessing the needs of Dakota State for the future,” Tunheim said.

Tunheim said the grant comes at a good time because DSU just completed a strategic plan for the university.

“That strategic plan gives us guidelines for more detailed planning that the grant will allow us to complete,” Tunheim added.

The deadline for the larger grant is spring 2003 with recipients to be announced next summer.