Ottawa, Kan. – Ottawa University has been awarded two $3 million Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grants from the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor. Over the next five years, the grants – one for the Ottawa, Kansas campus and one for the Surprise, Arizona campus (OUAZ) – will provide critical support to advance student success and strengthen the University’s capacity to serve its students. Ottawa University’s awards were among the 385 (totaling over $365 million) made to colleges and universities nationally.
“These grants will accelerate progress on Ottawa University’s key strategic priorities of improving academic quality, enhancing workforce readiness, and increasing overall student success, especially retention and progression,” said Chancellor William M. Tsutsui. “These grants have the potential to be truly transformative for the University and our ability to prepare our students for ‘lifetimes of personal significance, vocational fulfillment, and service to God and humanity.’”
The Ottawa campus’s project, “Building Pathways to Student Success, Workforce Readiness, and Institutional Excellence,” will improve student learning outcomes, workforce readiness and career preparation, and student retention, progression, and degree completion through enhanced academic, career, and student support services. It will create new opportunities for workforce-aligned instruction and experiential learning, strengthen health sciences pathways, upgrade laboratory facilities, and expand career development resources for students.
The OUAZ project, “Improving Student Outcomes through Academic Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and Institutional Capacity Building,” will improve student academic outcomes and workforce readiness while increasing student retention, progression, and completion through enhanced academic support. It will also promote understanding of the appropriate and ethical use of artificial intelligence technology in education by integrating AI literacy skills and concepts into teaching, learning, and professional development for faculty and staff.
The grants will fund the creation of one-stop Student Success Centers at both the Kansas and Arizona residential campuses. The grants will also support personnel, including new positions in student advising, writing and tutoring services, internship and workforce readiness coordination, and project management. In addition, the grants will provide funding for new equipment (for Nursing and Engineering in Surprise; for Biology, Exercise Science, and Health Sciences in Ottawa) and for the remodeling of facilities (laboratories in Kansas and student services areas on both campuses). Other items included are new resources for faculty development, the expansion of experiential learning opportunities, and training for student support staff.
“I am so proud to be a graduate of Ottawa University, where we are always striving to support the success of our students in the classroom, in their careers, and in life,” said Chair of the Board of Trustees Janet Kincaid '87. “We have a great team of faculty and staff prepared to implement these ambitious projects and show how investments such as these can have a tremendous impact on our students, the communities we serve, and the larger world.”