Prior to the 2015-2016 academic year, the space that would become the Steelcase Active Learning Center had been underutilized as a staff area.
During the summer of 2015, librarians cleared out the space and used folding tables and chairs to market the newly-cleared space as a makeshift classroom and event space.
In the spring of 2016, University of Saint Mary librarians, in collaboration with faculty and administrators, applied for the Steelcase Education Active Learning Center Grant to fund an active learning classroom in the library, an award worth $62,000. USM became one of 13 recipients of this highly competitive (over 800 applications were submitted in 2016) grant, and to date we are the only library to have received this award.
For USM's Grant Report Narratives, supporting documents, and the 2016 grant application packet, see: stmary.libguides.com/steelcase.
