Fall 2026 projects will bring music to new audiences, teach children Spanish and help businesses explore practical uses for AI
Four faculty-led projects advancing education, inclusion, community well-being and regional economic development have been selected to receive UND CONNECT funding for Fall 2026.
UND CONNECT awards grants of up to $5,000 to partnerships that bring together regional needs and University of North Dakota expertise. The program gives faculty and students opportunities to apply their knowledge beyond campus as they help community organizations expand services, develop resources and address local challenges.
The latest round includes the projects below.
Bridges Community Choir
Faculty: Casey Behm, assistant professor of Music, and Carly Flaagan, teaching assistant professor of Music
Community partner: Listen Center
Bridges Community Choir brings together singers ages 14 and older of all abilities at the Listen Center for weekly rehearsals centered on two shared goals: making music and building a community.
Behm and Flaagan use the Bridges Community Choir to reduce barriers to music using flexible teaching methods and accessible rehearsals. Along with developing vocal skills, choir members also take part in social activities designed to encourage communication, relationship-building and a sense of belonging.
UND CONNECT funding will help the choir grow to 40 members, hire an accompanist and expand its outreach to organizations serving older adults and people with disabilities. The choir uses the Listen Center as its rehearsal space to help connect the program with potential participants.
The project also will create up to two service-learning positions for UND students. Depending on their academic programs and professional goals, students may lead vocal warmups, conduct rehearsals, accompany singers or develop activities that build connections among choir members.
Spanish Storytime Project 2026
Faculty: Elizabeth Suazo-Flores, assistant professor of Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice, and Christie Cole, assistant professor of Languages & Global Studies
Community partner: Grand Forks Public Library
Monthly Spanish-language storytime sessions at the Grand Forks Public Library give children and families a place to read, speak and learn in Spanish while giving UND students a chance to use the language outside the classroom.
Cole and Suazo-Flores have partnered with the library on the program since Fall 2024.Participation has grown as families seek opportunities for their children to develop Spanish skills or maintain a linguistic heritage connected to their cultural identities.
UND CONNECT funding will support four Fall 2026 sessions. Students in Cole’s Spanish 421 course will help select books, plan activities and facilitate events. The grant also will pay for Spanish-language books for UND, enrichment materials and take-home book kits for families.
The project also builds on the library’s expanding Spanish-language offerings. Responding to community demand, the library has added more than 250 Spanish-language children’s books to its collection.
Music Foundations: Early Childhood Music Education at Grand Forks Head Start
Faculty: Whitney Mayo, assistant professor of Music Education
Community partner: Grand Forks Head Start
Children at the Lake Agassiz and Ben Franklin Head Start program sites will receive weekly music instruction through a new partnership led by Mayo and UND music education students.
Over six weeks, the team will provide 54 short music sessions across nine classrooms. Grounded in Music Learning Theory, the sessions will include singing, rhythmic chants, movement, vocal exercises and instrument exploration. In addition, each participating child also will receive a take-home kit with materials and activities for family music-making.
Up to eight undergraduate and graduate students will serve as paid project assistants, helping prepare for and support sessions while gaining field experience in early childhood music education.
Mayo will also lead a professional development session for Head Start teachers and donate curriculum resources that educators can use after the project concludes. The long-term goal is to build a partnership in which increasingly experienced UND students help sustain music programming at Head Start sites across Grand Forks.
Staying Visible Through the Cold: AI Communication Toolkit for Local Businesses
Faculty: Linqi Lu, assistant professor of Communication, and Jessica Schanilec-Gowan, teaching associate professor of Communication
Community partner: The Chamber — Grand Forks/East Grand Forks
The project will help local small-business owners identify practical, low-barrier ways to use artificial intelligence to strengthen marketing and communication with customers.
Lu and Schanilec-Gowan will work with local entrepreneurs to identify ways AI can support marketing, customer communication and digital engagement at their businesses. The work builds on an existing Chamber partnership and student-led research into the needs and concerns of area businesses.
Faculty and students plan to interview approximately 30 business representatives, conduct site visits and test AI tools for customer engagement and marketing communication. Students also will help develop prototype chatbots and AI brand agents, gaining experience in research, AI prompt engineering, digital marketing and communication consulting.
Findings will be shared through a Chamber-hosted workshop and a public showcase at the UND Memorial Union Ballroom during October and November 2026. A final community brief and toolkit will be completed and shared with the Chamber and participating businesses in December.
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