UT Arlington wins national Ford Motor Co. challenge for diabetes awareness project
ARLINGTON, Texas -- UT Arlington students from multiple academic disciplines will combine efforts to help educate lower-income, diverse community groups about diabetes prevention and control through a new, $25,000 grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund.
The University of Texas at Arlington has been named one of nine 2013 grant winners through the company’s College Community Challenge. The award supports university efforts to address an urgent community need through a service-learning project.
Project leaders chose diabetes prevention as their focus because of the prevalence of the disease within African American and Hispanic communities. Through the Ford grant, UT Arlington students will create educational videos in Spanish and other languages that can be used for public health outreach purposes.
“We are honored to receive this award,” said Frank Lamas, UT Arlington vice president for Student Affairs. “This is an opportunity for our students to use the knowledge and skills they are developing at UT Arlington to improve the lives of those in our community who are living with diabetes or at risk for developing the disease.” The UT Arlington Center for Community Service Learning, which is a division of Student Affairs, will guide students’ work.
The project will include art, business, communication, education, engineering, film, nursing and urban affairs students, organizers said. Students will work with Mission Arlington to reach at-risk groups. The nonprofit agency serves large numbers of African-American and Latino families. It was the subject of a video produced by UT Arlington students as part of the Ford grant competition.
Watch the video at http://vimeo.com/67535324.
Other 2013 Ford grant winners are Arizona State University, Brown University, the College for Creative Studies (Detroit), Essex County College (N.J.), Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Richmond and Wayne State University (Detroit).
The Ford College Community Challenge partnered with Campus Compact, the only national higher education association dedicated to campus-based civic engagement, for this year’s grant program.
“The Ford College Community Challenge is designed to leverage the talents and creativity of students to drive meaningful change in their communities,” said Mike Schmidt, director of education programs at Ford Motor Company Fund. “We applaud these universities and colleges that are making student-led, community engagement a priority.”
About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works with community partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. The Ford Motor Company Fund has operated for more than 60 years with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. Ford Driving Skills for Life teaches new drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods. Innovation in education is encouraged through programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and retirees each year work on projects that better their communities in 30 countries. Visit www.community.ford.com for more information.
About Campus Compact
Campus Compact is a national coalition of almost 1,200 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education. As the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, Campus Compact promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps forge effective community/campus partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum. Campus Compact’s membership includes public, private, two- and four-year institutions across the spectrum of higher education. Visit www.compact.org for more information.
About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution of more than 33,000 students and more than 2,200 faculty members in the heart of North Texas. It is the second largest institution in The University of Texas System. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more.
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Media contact: Bridget Lewis, Blewis@uta.edu, 817-272-3317
The University of Texas at Arlington, www.uta.edu
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