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Chancellor’s innovation fund approves five pilot projects to reduce costs, boost student success and build capacity
Summary
An innovation fund committee selected five projects — alumni/career conference, multilingual learner supports, an undergraduate research program, open educational resources for sciences and AI readiness/training — and the chancellor approved funding to begin implementation in 2025–26.
The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund — run jointly by CCV, Vermont State University and shared services staff — selected five faculty/staff proposals for implementation in the 2025–26 academic year and the chancellor approved funding for those projects, committee members reported on May 12.
Heather Weinstein, dean of strategic initiatives and student affairs at CCV, said the scoring committee received 15 proposals in the first round, recommended five to Chancellor Mok and that all five projects were approved. The selected projects are:
- “Making a Difference, Making a Living,” a hybrid alumni-and-career conference aimed at motivating existing and prospective students by connecting them with alumni and workforce leaders (planned for November). - Multilingual learner supports at CCV to expand curriculum and assessment tools for multilingual students and partner with employers statewide. - Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Graduate Professional Study (RGPS), a summer research pairing of faculty and students across campuses with a September showcase and graduate-prep workshops. - An Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative pairing CCB and VTSU faculty to identify low- or no-cost science course materials to reduce student textbook costs and improve day-one readiness. - An AI-readiness and performance-tracking project to prepare faculty and staff for responsible use of AI tools and to develop evaluation frameworks.
Weinstein said the fund launched in September, proposals were scored in November and the first five projects will begin implementation; the committee had also accepted a second round of proposals and expected to announce additional awards the following week.
Committee members emphasized that projects were selected for innovation, alignment with system priorities, measurable outcomes and potential to scale. The chancellor’s team approved the five proposals and implementation leads are now preparing pilot schedules and budgets.
Ending: The committee asked faculty project leads to identify themselves to trustees so the board could acknowledge them; trustees were invited to follow the projects’ progress and the committee plans regular updates as pilots move into implementation.
