UNH Today

The Parents Association has done it again.

Through its endowment, the association’s leadership group, the Parent Council, has approved $39,143 in funding for 20 projects benefitting UNH students.

Pam Dey Vossler, Parents Council president-elect, who served on the selection committee, explains, “Typically with the Parents Association Grants, we aim to provide seed money for emerging projects, expansions of existing efforts or some other new aspect of an ongoing student initiative, so the grant application process tends to surface some pretty cool stuff, and this year was no exception.”

The submissions ranged from outdoor activities to helping those in need, from the arts to cutting-edge science, just to name a few.

“The caliber of student at UNH, especially as viewed through the lens of these grant applications, is so impressive,” Vossler notes. “These grant recipients are resourceful, intellectually curious, passionate, intrepid, determined and visionary. They are taking the opportunities to learn at UNH to whole new levels while adding really unique and interesting elements to the student experience.”

Grant recipients for the year 2016 are:

Swipe It Forward $4,000 to help fund meal swipes to be made available in UNH’s dining halls for students facing food insecurity.

UNH Student Armed Forces Association (SAFA) $3,000 to help fund the purchase of new equipment for the veterans’ lounge SAFA recently created.

Campus Recreation: Outdoor Adventures (OA) $3,000 to expand OA’s surfing program, which currently only offers beginner lessons and is working to develop a program for more intermediate and advanced surfers on campus.

UNH Precision Racing $3,000 to help fund mechanical engineering students’ project to build a race car and compete against other colleges and universities at the international FSAE event in Michigan.

UNH Dance Team $3,000 to help overhaul the team’s gear and acquire a portable speaker to accommodate the university’s ever-growing program, which now has 21 members.

UNH Luna Cats $2,657 to fund the team’s work creating a fully autonomous mining robot that would function on a simulated lunar surface and compete at the NASA Robotics Mining Competition in May.

UNH Makerspace $2,000 to help fund the continuation of this space where students can develop their innovative interests with access to tools and materials they might otherwise be unable to access. It is open to all students and is free for their use.

UNH Men’s Rowing $2,000 to help fund repairs to the boathouse at Jackson’s Landing to ensure the safety and protection of rowing equipment.

UNH Women’s Rowing $2,000 to help fund repairs to the boathouse at Jackson’s Landing to ensure the safety and protection of rowing equipment.

UNH Fencing Club $2,000 to support the club’s efforts to provide fencers with new equipment.

UNH Archery Club $2,000 to help provide a safe practice space at the Hamel Recreation Center with new equipment.

UNH Winter Guard $1,800 to help fund the purchase of equipment as well as competition and transportation fees.

UNH Model United Nations $1,520 to help fund the group’s competition in its first international conference in 2018, which is a blend of competitive simulation and hands-on work on environmental issues at the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Galapagos Islands.

UNH Chem-E-Car $1,200 to help send undergraduate members of the team, which has designed and constructed a car powered by a chemical energy source, to the 2017 AIChE Northeastern Regional Competition in March.

UNH Women in Business $1,000 to fund the daylong Women in Business Conference, a free event for Paul College students.

UNH Police Department $1,000 to help fund the Citizen Police Academy 10-week class for students, faculty, staff and area residents.

UNH Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) $1,000 to help fund the team’s experimentation, development and construction of cutting-edge ROV technologies and applications.

Students Without Borders $1,000 to help fund its second mini-conference this spring, hosting universities without nationally recognized Engineers Without Borders chapters.

UNH Extra Terrestrial Navigation Swarm $1,000 to assist its mission to design, manufacture and test a “swarm” of fully autonomous robots for the purpose of locating resources on other planets.

National Association for Music Education (NAfME) $966 to help fund professional development offerings for students involved in NAfME, which is devoted to advancing the field of music education and providing opportunities to UNH’s music department.

As Vossler puts it, “To be able to support students in this way, to help them raise the bar for themselves and their peers as they work hard to chase dreams and fulfill their potential, is a key aspect of what the Parents Council is all about and we are so proud to be able to be associated with this kind of creativity, intelligence and drive."