Proposal

1)      Project Narrative:

The grant will be used to convert AH 207 into a student center and seminar classroom for the Center of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

The Center is moving from its current home on the third floor of SO to the first floor of AH, beginning in Fall 2014. This move translates into increased visibility for the Center’s office as well as closer proximity to the administrative offices of the PhD and other interdisciplinary programs. The Center’s visibility will facilitate student enrollment in WGSS certificate programs and recruitment efforts and the proximity to other interdisciplinary programs will promote collaboration on curriculum and program development initiatives. AH 207, the room that is the focus of this grant, is located directly upstairs from the future location of the WGSS Center suite. Ideally, the student center and seminar classroom would be renovated in time for the Fall 2014 semester, establishing continuity in terms of the Center’s new home in the AH building.

AH 207 used to serve as an office but it is currently empty. It contains a chalkboard and cabinetry with a sink. Once converted into an e-classroom, it will serve three purposes with important educational benefits: a student center or “home away from home” for our Feminist Graduate Student Association (FGSA) and LGBTQA student group, a classroom for teaching WGSS graduate seminars and senior undergraduate seminars, and a boardroom for WGSS core and affiliated faculty as well as the WGSS Advisory Board of donors.

With these three functions in mind, the room will be used as a classroom that will facilitate teaching through updated technology, an informal student center where graduate and undergraduate students can create a safe space for intellectual exchange, and a boardroom where faculty can hold administrative meetings, conduct public lectures and organize symposia. Additionally, it will serve as space where the Center can hold meetings and fundraising events organized by its Advisory Board of donors. Of course, AH 207 will provide an additional seminar space for the use of other departments and programs, which would be scheduled in consultation with the WGSS director.

This application focuses on using upgrades to give AH 207 a distinct identity that does not duplicate, but rather, supplements and enhances the curricular and programming role of the interdisciplinary programs within the College of Arts and Letters, for example that of the PhD Program and its seminar room, AH 209, as well as the Multicultural Affairs Office’s LGBTQA Resources Center in the Student Services Building. One distinguishing feature of the WGSS room, AH 207, is that the classroom space already includes a reception area (with cabinetry and plumbing). This reception area allows the room to uniquely serve as a welcoming space for a student center and donor boardroom.

In order to meet the Center’s administrative, pedagogical, community-building, and programming needs as a student center and seminar classroom, we are requesting technology that will enhance the classroom dynamic and will enable students, teachers and other stakeholders in the WGSS Center to access, produce, and distribute information about WGSS curriculum and programming. One priority is that the technology upgrades will allow for the integration into teaching and symposia of multimedia and audiovisual elements, for example, powerpoint presentations or film screenings. Another priority is for the room to function as a welcome center for the FAU student community: the phone line, printer and software will enable communication and creative expression, particularly with the production and distribution of websites, videos and flyers. 

After consultation with the Arts and Letter computing manager, WGSS is requesting that a phone, projector, Dell computer, monitor, printer, keyboard, mouse and lock be installed in the AH 207. We also request that additional network ports in the walls be added for CPU access, a phone line be installed, and electric wiring be installed in the ceiling for the projector. The project requires that a blackout shade be installed in the window to ensure the optimum viewing of images from the projector. The projector will also require a manual pull-down screen. The application requests that two white boards be installed, one large white board replacing the chalkboard currently in AH 207 and another hung on the opposite side of the room to ensure ease of access to all participants in the room.

2)      How is this project aligned with the Strategic Plan? Please cite specific goals and strategies.

            This application is requesting technology fees to upgrade the AH 207 into an e-classroom and as a

result, fulfills FAU's 2012-2017 strategic plan goal #1 to “enrich the educational experience” and “inspire research, scholarship and creative activity.” The project will allow AH 207 to become a multimedia teaching space, providing students and faculty with access to state of the art technology that can allow for the creation and integration of film, music, and online archives as well as encourage interactive teaching practices. The software on the CPU, especially the Master Adobe Creative Suite, will mean that the room will function as a unique student and faculty resource for digital humanities approaches in terms of research and the classroom.

With the room’s function as a student center, the Feminist Graduate Student Association affiliated with the WGSS Center will be given the opportunity to use the software for developing their own multimedia products to market their programming and reach out to alumni (the video currently available on the WGSS webpage is just one example of the creativity of the WGSS students in this regard: http://www.fau.edu/WomensStudies/). One long term goal of the WGSS Center is to develop a position for either an advanced undergraduate or graduate student to serve its webmaster; the software being requested for AH 207 will lay the groundwork for the resources necessary to provide for such a position. The application meets strategic goal #4 by facilitating “physical structures and campus development initiatives that support improved learning and work environments.” This proposal also seeks to enhance the teaching and learning objectives for the undergraduate and graduate students in WGSS during their time at FAU. This project therefore enhances the teaching and learning objectives for students during their time at FAU.

AH 207, with its unique cabinet and plumbing facilities, will also function as a small reception area, student center and donor boardroom. In turn, the project addresses goal #3 of “increasing FAU’s community engagement,” providing the students, faculty and donors with the means by which to reach out to alumni and develop a network of contacts with non-profits in the area. With AH 207 configured as both a classroom, student center, and boardroom, we will give the WGSS undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and board members a home for interacting with one another, thereby meeting goal #4’s focus on “leveraging momentum” in order to “increase fundraising to support FAU initiatives.” The Center will use this room to host small receptions for current students, alumni and donors, which will feed into programming for internships and career networking opportunities for our WGSS masters, graduate and undergraduate certificate students.

                        Quote: AVI/SPL, total $22,618.14

                        4000 ANSI Lumen WUXGA Multimedia Projector ($3,133.90)

                        Mount for Projector ($206.80)

                        Pipe for Mount ($14.77)

                        Ceiling Mount System ($126.30)

                        109’’D Manual Pull-down Screen ($285.22)

                        Wide 18’’ Screen Sympodium ($2,231.90)

                        Arm for Sympodium ($159.27)         

                        Document Camera ($586.30)

                        DVD Player ($114.61)

                        Filler Module ($31.90)

                        Cable Cubby 600 ($446.60)

                        VGA and Audio Retractor ($319.00)

                        HDMI Module ($51.04)

                        Two USB A Female, Two USB B Female ($51.04)

                        Blank Plate-Double ($12.76)

                        One RCA Female to BNC Female Adapter, Two RCA Female to Female Barrels ($51.04)

                        BNC-M to BNC-M Cable ($8.94)

                        Captive Screw to RCA Female Audio Cable ($6.16)

                        DigitalMedia Presentation System 300 ($5,222.55)

                        Media Presentation Button Panel ($326.42)

                        TableTop Kit for MP ($65.29)

                        DigitalMedia 8G+ Receiver and Room Controller w/ Scaler ($587.54)

                        Power Supply ($163.21)

                        Creston Certified HDMI Interface Cable, 6ft ($32.64)

                        DVI-D Male to HDMI-F Adapter ($25.52)

                        Custom Engravable Backlit Labels, Black ($19.58)

                        Pair of Wall-Mounted Speakers ($280.72)

                        Equipment Rack Accessories ($440.00)

                        Media Manager Cart with Casters ($2,731.08)

                        Installation Materials ($757.86)

                        Labor and System Warranties ($4,128.18)

                        Quote: CDWG, A&L Computing Services, total $2,418.90

                        Dell Computer, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and Lock ($1980)

                        HP Color LaserJet 400 M451 Printer ($438.90)

                        Quote: JC White, total $6,115.34

                        Two 48x96 clarus depth pure white magnetic glassboard  ($3920.40)

                                    (1/4" tempered ppg starphire glass w/magnetic pure white finish stainless steel

                                    stand offs mounting hardware and 4 magnets)

                        Two FAU Logos for Boards ($244.20)

                        Two marker trays for glassboards ($211.20)

(4"x24" clarus glass marker tray 1/4" tempered ppg starphire glass, stainless steel standoffs and mounting hardware)

Two Expo markaways 3 eraser and dry erase marker sets ($29.04)

                        Freight for Glass Marker Boards ($258.50)

                        Delivery and Installation Cost ($1452)

                        Quote: Boca Blinds, total $607.20

                        Black-out shade ($607.20, including installation)

                        Quote: Worx Electrical, total $5,880

                        Telephone/Phone line ($1,000)          

                        Additional Network Ports ($880)

                        Electric wiring for installing projector in ceiling ($4,000)                             

            Total Hardware Quote: $37,639.58

                        Quote: Microsoft and Adobe Websites, total $4,117.14                            

            Microsoft Office Professional Suite ($439.99)

            Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master software ($3677.15)

            Total Software Quote: $4,117.14    

                        No personnel costs involved

As of Fall 2012, AH 207 was already vacated. The College of Arts and Letters is in the process of requesting the removal of the room’s carpet and replacement of the room’s carpet with tile. Therefore, the timeline for the installation of the projector and computer components will likely be dictated by when the update of the flooring is completed. Ideally, we would prefer for the upgrades to be completed by August 1, 2014, before the Fall 2014 classes begin.

The equipment would be under warranty and maintained by the IT personnel of Arts and Letters.

            None available.

AVI/SPL, CDWJ, JC White, Arts and Letters OIT personnel, Worx Electrical, Boca Blinds