New Grant Programs Relating to Women in Higher Education

North Carolina State University in Raleigh received a $252,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a research project to determine more effective methods for disseminating information on HIV/AIDS to college-age African American women. In North Carolina, HIV infections run 41 percent higher than the national average and Black women are 15 times more likely than White women to be infected with HIV.

The research will be conducted by Fay Cobb Payton, an associate professor of information systems at North Carolina State and James Kiwanuka-Tondo, an associate professor of communication at the university. Dr. Payton is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds an MBA from Clark Atlanta University and a Ph.D. in information and decision systems from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, received a $200,000 grant from the Wyncote Foundation of Philadelphia to lead a five-college consortium that will produce documentaries and social media campaigns on the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Partnering with Rowan University in the project will be California State University Northridge, Northern Illinois University, Framingham State University in Massachusetts, and Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison. Students on each campus will produce a 10-20 minute documentary that will be distributed to colleges and universities across the country.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received a $434,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a research project to determine a program aimed at increasing physical activity among older, sedentary women.

The grant program is under the direction of Leanne Lefler, an assistant professor of nursing. Dr. Lefler is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University. She earned a master’s degree at Central Arkansas University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The University of Illinois at Chicago received a grant from the South African National Research Foundation to study the career progress of South African women. Jenny Hoobler, an associate professor of managerial studies at UIC, will conduct research on gender diversity in the workplace and the financial success of South African firms.

Dr. Hoobler is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Springfield and a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.