Olin College of Engineering Awarded Davis Educational Foundation Grant

August 12, 2020

Olin College of Engineering received a $25,000 Presidential Grant for Alternate Academic Delivery from the Davis Educational Foundation to support large-scale preparations for remote-hybrid instruction and learning during the 2020-2021 academic year.

In July, Olin announced plans for a residential fall, with the majority of our instruction to be done remotely. Olin is also planning for remote participation by students who are quarantined or unable to return to campus. This grant will aid Olin faculty in creating a virtual version of Olin’s curriculum that engages and supports student learning in Olin’s student-centered, experiential way.

“We are grateful to the Davis Educational Foundation for their support. In March, Olin faculty had one week to transition a well-crafted hands-on curriculum into a virtual experience. This grant will support Olin faculty to do what they do best, offer a rigorous student-centered curriculum using creative experimental methods of delivery,” said Olin College President Gilda Barabino.

The creation of virtual instructional delivery has required faculty to rethink normal modes of course delivery, which include dynamic and responsive content delivery, spontaneous interactions between faculty and student teams as they work, and creation of physical project artifacts.

As Olin looks ahead to fall, the College will be ready to shift to continued virtual learning and to create more resiliency as the global pandemic reshapes higher education more broadly.

The grant was received from the Davis Educational Foundation established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis after Mr. Davis’s retirement as chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc.