University of Detroit Mercy has recently received more than $2 million in grants to help educate students and their work in the community.
The largest, a two-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will allow graduate students in Detroit Mercy’s counseling program to continue their work addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of young people.
The $862,000 grant awarded to Nancy Calleja, professor and chair of Detroit Mercy’s Department of Counseling and Addiction Studies, will provide specialized training to master’s level counseling students and community-based clinical supervisors who work with adolescents and young adults. The project will run through 2025.
This funding follows two similar grants awarded to Calleja by the HRSA that provided more than $1.6 million in funding since 2014.
“This most recent funding further cements the Detroit Mercy Counseling program’s role as an essential partner in nationwide efforts to effectively prepare highly skilled behavioral health clinicians to work with those in greatest need, and particularly those whose needs are not being met with the transition to virtual therapy,” Calleja said. “With an emphasis on individuals in face-to-face clinical settings in southeastern Michigan, we will continue to close this critical gap while continuing to significantly enhance the region.”
The current funding is for a project called the Counseling Underserved Populations — Children Adolescents and Young Adults (CUSP-CAY) Fellowship and Workforce Enhancement. Over the next two years, 40 CUSP-CAY Fellowships will be available to Detroit Mercy Counseling students who will receive specialized additional training and a stipend, 40 community-based clinical supervisors and managers will receive enhanced supervisory training and several new partnerships between the UDM Counseling program and the community will be formed.
The University has again received a grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to continue and build on wide-ranging programming that aids upwards of 300 students annually through the University’s Student Success Center. The grant provides $107,000 a year for six years.
This programming includes an online social belonging program designed to improve the student experience and increase retention; professional college life coaches; student mentoring by UDM faculty members and expand affinity support groups.
“This grant allows Student Success Services to help academically and economically disadvantaged students succeed,” said SSS Director Felicia Hartinger. “It helps us offer a comprehensive approach to student success because we want students to find the one that works best for them.”
The College of Engineering & Science received a $300,000 grant from the Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program for Women in STEM to provide six scholarships in engineering and computer science over a three-year period.
Other recent grants included:
- $152,900 from the Kresge Foundation to support the School of Architecture & Community Development’s DCDC Omnibus Projects
- $80,000 from the Sutaruk Foundation for scholarships for undergraduate engineering students
- $45,178 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support the 2023 Great Lakes Bioneer Detroit Conference
- $25,000 from the Fifth Third Foundation to the College of Business Administration’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship to support small loans to participants of the Boost Entrepreneurial Training Program
- $20,000 from the Old Newsboys Goodfellows Fund for Detroit Mercy Dental’s Titans for Teeth Mobil Clinic
- $10,000 from DentaQuest to pay costs of dental care for uninsured patients at Detroit Mercy Dental
- $10,000 from the Dewitt C. Holbrook Memorial Fund to support Detroit Mercy Law’s Conviction Integrity Clinic
- $10,000 from the Dewitt C. Holbrook Memorial Fund to support Detroit Mercy Law’s Sugar Law Workers Rights Clinic
- $5,000 from Comerica Bank to support the College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship
- $5,000 for from the Dewitt C. Holbrook Memorial Fund to support Detroit Mercy Law’s Federal Pro Se Clinic
- $4,000 from the CVS Health Foundation for scholarships for nursing students
