This year the Peninsula College Foundation and the Peninsula College Office of Instruction collectively awarded more than $100,000 to faculty and staff for equipment, projects and professional development that otherwise would have gone unfunded.

“Awards to faculty and staff enhance the student educational experience at our college,” Brinton Sprague, interim vice president of instruction at P.C., said.

“They support scholarly activity, improve teaching and learning, and provide needed resources for many programs. Close collaboration between the Peninsula College Foundation and the Office of Instruction resulted in awards for 37 faculty and staff and totaled more than $101,000.”

The foundation provides grants based on endowment earnings and available unrestricted funds. This year’s earnings allowed for $25,000 in grants for faculty and staff, as well as $20,000 for Exceptional Faculty Awards, also based on endowment earnings.

The funds for these awards come from a number of sources, with the majority derived from the earnings of two endowments. One of those endowments was provided by a donor with interests in Professional/Technical programs. These funds are split among student scholarships and faculty professional development and equipment needs.

The second endowment is an Exceptional Faculty Endowment set up by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges to promote faculty professional development.

Funds contributed by the Peninsula College Foundation were matched by the board to provide an endowment whose earnings are used as awards for the faculty.

The Foundation and the Office of Instruction partnered to provide the funds necessary to award applicants. The projects range from conference attendance, study abroad projects, student and faculty field research, lecture series and necessary “big ticket” equipment.

“I have been fortunate over the past 11 years to receive a considerable amount of support for my research from P.C. and the P.C. Foundation,” said biology instructor and award recipient Brian Hauge.

“The foundation grants are especially important as these funds can be used to support student travel to distant (and near) places where our students have the opportunity to learn new skills, interact with the public and work alongside professional scientists from all over the country,” Hauge said. “I feel that Peninsula College believes in me and I try to represent the college in a positive and enthusiastic way every time I can.”

For more information on how you can make a difference in the lives of students in your community, call Getta Rogers at the Peninsula College Foundation at 417-6400.