Four faculty and staff members in the College of Education were inducted into the 2022 Illinois State University Million Dollar Club.
The Million Dollar Club recognizes faculty and staff who have earned over $1 million in extramural funding in support of research, creative expression, instruction, or community service. Congratulations to the following College of Education faculty on their induction:
Alan Bates, School of Teaching & Learning
Alan Bates, director of the School of Teaching and Learning, is the recipient of the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECAC) and the Early Childhood Faculty Preparation (ECFP) grants that are geared towards increasing and diversifying the early childhood workforce. The ECAC grant funds an online program where individuals working in early childhood education can earn a bachelor’s degree and teaching license in early childhood education. ECFP grant supports a master’s program in early childhood education. This program will give current early childhood educators the opportunity to become early childhood instructors in higher education.
Christy Borders, Illinois Tutoring Initiative
The Illinois Tutoring Initiative supports the learning and social-emotional well-being of students in response to learning disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to build confident learners through high-impact learning that gives K-12 students a trusted adult to work and build friendships with, allowing tutors to build a connection beyond academics. Tutors consist of current and former teachers, higher education students, and community partners that undergo thorough training to meet the standards of the initiative. Christy Borders is a professor in the Department of Special Education and director of the Illinois Tutoring Initiative. “High-impact tutoring is one of the only research-based interventions that has shown impacts in both reading and math across multiple grade levels,” said Borders.
Allison Antink-Meyer, School of Teaching & Learning
SUPERCHARGE (STEM-based University Pathway Encouraging Relationships with Chicago High Schools in Automation, Robotics, and Green Energy) is funded by The National Science Foundation. This grant supports an after-school program in four Chicago high schools to engage students in community-connected STEM projects. Allison Antink-Meyer, associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning focuses her research on how students and teachers view engineering and science and how school-based representations influence their STEM literacies. The goal of the program is to motivate interest in STEM fields and increase the number of students from underrepresented and underserved populations who choose to pursue STEM fields at the college level.
Nikki Michalak, A+ Project and Center for Intensive Behavioral Supports
Nikki Michalak is the Statewide Director of two grants supported by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The Autism Professional Learning and Universal Supports (A+) Project assists ISBE in addressing the behavioral needs of youth with autism and related behavioral and communication disorders. The Center for Intensive Behavioral Supports (CIBS) was founded in April 2022 to help reduce the use of physical restraint, time out, and isolated time out. The CIBS project develops training and resources in crisis de-escalation, restorative practices, identifying signs of distress during physical restraint and time out, trauma-informed practices, behavior management practices, and support in using effective, positive, and proactive practices.
