Cultural and Intellectual Engagement Council

Mission: The mission of MSU’s Cultural and Intellectual Engagement Council (CIEC) is to enhance and enrich the vibrancy of campus and community life.

Duties: In support of the mission, the CIEC seeks to sustain and enhance events which regularly occur to good effect, and at the same time, to subsidize new events identified through proposals from the campus community. The CIEC will issue requests for proposals, award and administer funds, assess the success of events, and make funding decisions according to an annual timeline. 

Members: This institutional committee’s members include four (4) faculty members from different disciplines, one (1) student, one (1) staff member, Student Activities Director, VPAA (ex officio, non-voting), and one additional member of the CIEC Advisory Council (non-voting).

Selection of members: Faculty members will be nominated by their departments/divisions, while students and staff members will be nominated by their respective governance bodies. The VPAA will appoint members. Faculty and staff will serve three-year terms. Students will serve one-year terms. The additional member of the CIEC Advisory Council will serve on an annual rotation. 

Advisory Council: Laurie Geller, VPAA; Robert Kibler; Bill Harbort; Sarah Aleshire; Charlie Young

Funding: The Vice President for Advancement, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and others will provide funding.

Please review and gather the information needed to apply before completing the online application. Late applications will not be accepted, and incomplete applications will not be funded.  

Proposals be accepted twice each academic year.

  • Proposals for spring semester 2024 are due October 16, 2023.  
  • Proposals for fall semester 2024 are due April 22, 2024.

Applicants may request no more than $4000. Applicants must first seek funding from departments. Matching funding sources and amounts must be provided. No minimum match is required, but proposals should include some amount of matching funds. Funds cannot be used for gifts or for faculty/staff salaries, stipends, or travel. All requests must comply with Minot State University's policies.

If you have questions, please contact Laurie Geller in the Academic Affairs Office. Questions about budget items should be directed to Amy Armstrong, Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs or to Sheila Latham, Grants & Accounting Analyst at least one week prior to the deadline

To help you develop your event's timeline and promotion plan, use the event planning checklist

Grant awardees must submit a post-event summary no later than one month after the event.

This summary should include:

  • The event’s attendance. How many people attended? What was the approximate number of: a) MiSU students, b) MiSU faculty and staff, and c) community members?
  • A description of the media coverage for the event (e.g., newspaper, TV, radio, social media groups, newsletters, other).
  • The event's impact on the campus and the community.
  • A description and reflection on the event's successes and challenges. (e.g., What might you do differently? What parts of the event turned out well? Did the event meet your expectations?)
  • [Optional] Photos, videos, or other information from the event. If you want to share photos or other information from the event, please include that information in a file. Photos could be included directly in a Word or pdf file, or you could provide links to individual photos, videos, or other media and information or to a folder of such items. 

Submit your post-event summary HERE.

Cultural and Intellectual Engagement Council 2023-2024

Faculty (4 members)
Warren Gamas
Leisa Harmon
Serena Pontenila
Samuel Stinson

CIEC advisory member
Robert Kibler (non-voting)

Staff (1 member)
Katy Allers

Student (1 member)
TBD 

Student Activities Director
Aaron Hughes

VPAA (non-voting)
Laurie Geller

Cultural and Intellectual Engagement Council Spring 2024 Grant Awards

Project

Awardees

Amount

33rd Annual Spring Honor Dance & Powwow Educational Program

Annette Mennem

$3500

Plum River Native Prairie Dedication Keynote

Dan Conn and Annette Mennem

$3500

A Day with Diane Wilson: A Series of On-Campus Events Featuring the Award-Winning Dakota Writer and Educator

Jane la Plante, Lizzy LeRud, and Annette Mennem

$3500

ND Democracy Cafe and Community Engagement Project

Jynette Larshus

$3500

Data Science for All Summit: Relevance to diverse fields and industries

Jennifer Sherman, Nigel George, Daren Erisman, Serena Pontenila, and Genevieve Kahrilas

$3500

Dr. Graves Data Science Visit

Serena Pontenila, Daren Erisman, and Jennifer Sherman

$3000

Cultural and Intellectual Engagement Council Fall 2024 Grant Awards

Event Start Date End Date Contact Award
Exploring Diverse Culture through Sport and Physical Activity Series  8/30/2024 12/13/2024 Yung-Ju Chen, Kelsey Higginson

$2200

The Great Open: Rebecca Norris Webb & Alex Webb at Minot State University  9/5/2024 9/7/2024 Greg Vettel, Ryan Stander $3000
Crafting Connections: Exploring Aesthetics in Teaching and Learning with Dr. Bruce Uhrmacher 9/12/2024 9/13/2024 Dan Conn $3700
Rachel Kurtz: Queer Christian Concert and Q&A 9/28/2024 9/28/2024 Rachel Simonson, Kathy Hintz $1300
NoDAKoN 10/16/2024 10/17/2024 Kyle Bittle, Kristi Berg $3250
Songs for a New World 10/17/2024 10/20/2024 Emerson Eads $3000
Informed Citizenship and American Politics: A Day in Conversation with Public Philosopher Jack Russell Weinstein 10/18/2024 10/18/2024 Raman Sachdev $2200
MSU Keyboard Arts Festival 10/25/2024 10/27/2024 Dianna Anderson $2826