Office of the Provost
2026 PRIDE Fund Projects
Ten projects were selected to receive PRIDE Fund grants in 2026. The President’s Research, Innovation, and Development toward Excellence (PRIDE) Fund provides Lindenwood faculty and students with grants to financially support projects promoting research, scholarship, community partnerships, and creative activity at Lindenwood University. The funding supports the growth of student experiences, community engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Rebecca Panagos, PhD
Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education and Human Services
This project expands the implementation of the Empower2Families app through partnerships with nonprofit organizations and school districts. The app provides families with a parent-directed platform for documenting a child’s progress and selectively sharing information with educators, service providers, and other members of the child’s support network. The rollout supports broader community access, gathers feedback from families and organizational partners, and allows students to contribute to the continued development and refinement of the app. By strengthening communication among families, schools, and service providers while preserving parents’ control over their children’s information, the project seeks to improve coordinated support for children and families.
Kyle Sunderland, PhD
Exercise Science
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project expands the use of data-informed approaches to support youth athlete development. Faculty and students collect and analyze information related to athletic performance, physical development, training, and other factors that may influence young athletes’ growth and well-being. The project provides students with applied experience in assessment, data interpretation, and evidence-based program development while offering coaches, families, and community partners practical information that can inform training decisions. Through continued data collection and community engagement, the project seeks to promote safer, more effective, and developmentally appropriate approaches to youth sports participation.
Brittany Goodman, PhD
Psychology
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project explores the complex relationship between trauma, healing, resilience, and personal growth. Through interdisciplinary scholarship and creative or educational activities, the project examines how individuals and communities understand and respond to traumatic experiences. Students participate in research, reflection, and the development of materials or programming that encourage trauma-informed awareness and meaningful conversations about recovery and growth. The project seeks to deepen understanding of trauma’s emotional, psychological, social, and creative dimensions while identifying approaches that can support resilience, connection, and well-being.
Suzanne Stoelting, PhD
Sociology
College of Science, Technology, and Health
Stephanie Afful, PhD
Psychology
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project investigates how teaching emotionally demanding or high-risk topics affects student learning, engagement, and well-being. Faculty examine pedagogical strategies that help students engage thoughtfully with difficult course material while reducing the potential for emotional exhaustion, disengagement, or burnout. The project evaluates student experiences and learning outcomes and uses the findings to develop practical recommendations for trauma-informed, supportive, and academically rigorous instruction. By identifying effective approaches to teaching challenging content, the project supports both student success and faculty development across disciplines.
Betsy Melick, PhD
English
College of Arts and Humanities
This project develops a Lindenwood University composition reader designed specifically for the needs of Lindenwood students and writing instructors. The reader brings together accessible, relevant, and engaging texts that can be used to teach critical reading, rhetorical analysis, research, argumentation, and academic writing. Faculty and students contribute to the selection, development, editing, and review of materials, creating opportunities for collaborative scholarship and publication experience. The completed resource supports greater consistency across composition courses, reduces reliance on costly commercial materials, and provides instructors with a customizable collection that reflects Lindenwood’s students, curriculum, and educational priorities.
Amanda Harrod, PhD
Public Health
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project supports the St. Charles Community Health Collaborative in conducting a comprehensive assessment of health needs, resources, and priorities within the local community. Lindenwood faculty and students assist with gathering, organizing, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information from residents, health organizations, service providers, and other community stakeholders. The assessment identifies significant health concerns, gaps in services, community strengths, and opportunities for collaboration. Findings provide local organizations with evidence that can guide planning, resource allocation, programming, and future community health initiatives while giving students meaningful experience in applied public health research and community engagement.
Adam Donohue
Music
College of Arts and Humanities
This interdisciplinary project explores the relationship among improvised dance, live music, movement, and spatial awareness. Dancers and musicians collaborate to investigate how physical motion, sound, timing, and the use of space shape creative decision-making and performance. The project provides students with experience in improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of original performance work while expanding opportunities for creative research across music and dance.
Chad Kerksick, PhD
Exercise Science
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This community-based observational study examines the prevalence of iron deficiency among physically active female athletes. Faculty and student researchers collect and evaluate relevant health, dietary, and exercise-related information to better understand factors that may place exercising women at increased risk. The project provides students with applied experience in community-based research and health assessment while generating information that may support greater awareness, earlier identification, and improved education related to iron status and athletic health.
Patrick Harty, PhD
Exercise Science
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project integrates portable ultrasound technology into classroom instruction and student research. Students use the equipment to visualize anatomical structures and physiological processes, connect course concepts with real-time observations, and develop practical skills with an emerging assessment tool. The project expands opportunities for experiential learning, supports faculty and student research, and demonstrates how portable imaging technology can enhance instruction across health- and human-performance-related disciplines.
Heather Pennington, MA Ed, CSCS, CSPS, CTRS
Physical Education
College of Science, Technology, and Health
This project gives recreation therapy students applied experience using the APIE process—assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation—to design therapeutic recreation programs. Students identify participant or community needs, establish measurable goals, develop and deliver appropriate interventions, and evaluate program outcomes. Through these projects, students strengthen their clinical reasoning, documentation, collaboration, and program-development skills while creating recreation-based services that respond to the needs of specific populations or community partners.