MAP Academy selects three faculty to receive ‘Catalyst’ awards

12 Apr 2024     By Dana Ludvik, CYFS

The Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics (MAP Academy) is awarding $5,000 through a competitive funding opportunity created to address the increased need to enhance the rigor of field-based human subjects research at the University of Nebraska. These awards were made possible by a grant from the Nebraska Research Initiative. 

Awards from the Applied Analytics and Data Infrastructure (AADI) Catalyst Program in the 2023-24 fiscal year will go to three faculty representing different disciplines in which field-based research is conducted with various populations, including teachers, rural communities, and adolescent youth and their families. 

The awards will enable faculty to engage with the MAP Academy team, drawing upon its expertise in rigorous analysis and database support, with the goal of building collaborations to support future research.

The following researchers, along with their project teams, have been selected to receive AADI Catalyst awards:

Principal investigator: Lindsay Hastings, Clifton Professor in Mentoring Research
Affiliation: Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication
Campus: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Project title: “Beyond the Farm Gate: Building a Leadership Development System to Support Rural Community Well-being and Prosperity” 

Principal investigator: Aprille Phillips, Associate Professor
Affiliation: Educational Administration
Campus: University of Nebraska at Kearney
Project title: “Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retaining Teachers in Rural Settings” 

Principal investigator: Natalie Sehi, Extension Educator
Affiliation: Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Education and Human Sciences
Campus: University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Project title: “Monthly Meal Kits: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Addressing Adolescent Nutrition Insecurity” 

Housed within the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS), the MAP Academy promotes the advancement of methodologies, applied analytics and data infrastructure to support and enhance rigorous research within the social, behavioral, health and educational sciences. Experienced faculty and staff work closely with researchers to understand their needs and ensure high-quality data through advanced statistical and methodological approaches. 

“When our team collaborates with faculty, our goal is always to promote the highest standards of research to maximize their work’s impact,” said Lorey Wheeler, director of the MAP Academy. “We are excited for the opportunity to support this group of interdisciplinary researchers through the AADI Catalyst Program and see promise for future collaboration.” 

A call for proposals for additional AADI Catalyst Program awards will open in the fall to support projects in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Program details are available on the MAP Academy’s funding opportunities webpage.