Aurora University Receives $49,000 Grant from 3M Foundation

AURORA, Ill, August 9, 2007—Aurora University has received a $49,000 grant from the 3M Foundation of the St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Company to help develop a leadership and service learning curriculum through the University’s Institute for Collaboration.

The grant, provided by the foundation’s Vision Grant program, will help AU to develop a curriculum for AU students providing mentoring, tutoring and enrichment programs for area middle school students participating in a public city-wide after school project.

The funds are to be expended over a three-year period. The grant supports a comprehensive community-based initiative to help students succeed and improve neighborhoods.

Kristen Johnson, AU Director of Service Learning said, “This grant will help AU students acquire new skills through classroom experiences to apply to real-life situations in a city-wide after school program.”

3M Vision Grants recognize, support, and encourage innovations at private colleges and provide start-up funding to launch ventures. Central to the award is the opportunity for students and faculty to discover new ways of learning that connect to the larger community.

The funds will underwrite the development of a course of study on student leadership. This course will be created through engaging faculty with community leaders, and gathering data to determine the impact of implementing leadership initiatives that are designed to enhance a public-private partnership such as the City-Wide After School Program.

The leadership and civic engagement enhancement will leverage the funding from the City of Aurora, Communities in Schools, Federal Work Study program and AU.

Goal progress will be reported through a symposium on Aurora Partnerships to be held in Perry Theatre of The Aurora Foundation Center for Community Enrichment.

Representatives from city government, schools, regional non-profit partners and from AU will meet monthly to set the agenda that integrates the leadership module into the after school project.

Faculty and participating students will seek out conference opportunities to share Vision-sponsored outcomes of the leadership module.

3M is a $23 billion diversified technology company with leading positions in electronics, telecommunications, industrial, consumer and office, healthcare, safety and other markets.

3M Community Giving consists of product donations and cash grants by 3M and the 3M Foundation and bolstered by employee and retiree volunteerism. In 2006, more than $37 million was awarded to education and charitable organizations.

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