Thirty-seven academic initiatives across all three Rutgers campuses received a total of $1.5 million in Academic Excellence Fund (AEF) awards this year.

The projects – ranging from development of a nursing program in Camden to a classroom internet pilot program in New Brunswick – were selected among about 100 proposals to receive funding.

Michael Pazzani, vice president for research and graduate and professional education, said this year the review committee added new criteria for the awards, selecting proposals that would contribute to the enrollment of a significant number of students.

“It was a way of seeding something not just on the research side, which is traditional, but on the education side,” Pazzani said.

Applicants from across the university submitted proposals. The winners were notified earlier this month. The largest award of $100,000 was granted for development of a renewable fuel generating facility for transportation infrastructure in New Brunswick.

Pazzani said most projects received less funding than requested in order for the AEF to accommodate additional proposals.

The program is designed to fund projects that will eventually become self sustaining, not to fill budget gaps, he said.

“The goal is really to build excellence across the university,” Pazzani said.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs took over the Academic Excellence Fund program, now in its sixth year, from the Office of Academic Affairs in 2006.

For a complete list of award-winning projects, click here.