Grants That Give Back: Academic Foundation Funding Sparks Collaboration and Discovery

Since 1965, the Academic Foundation at Hardin-Simmons University has played a quiet yet powerful role in shaping the learning experience for students and faculty alike. What began as a vision by educational leaders Dr. James Landes and Dr. Lee Hemphill to strengthen faculty salaries has grown into an endowment of more than $800,000 that supports academic excellence, innovation, and student-focused discovery.

This year alone, the foundation awarded more than $38,000 to fund projects that enrich classrooms, elevate research, and expand hands-on learning opportunities across campus.

One of the 2025–26 funded projects bridges disciplines by pairing HSU’s physical therapy and engineering programs to design and construct a specialized patient lift for the university’s growing hippotherapy clinic.

Dr. Allison Robinson, PT, DPT, a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy and assistant professor of physical therapy, shared how the idea came to life.

“I was forwarded an email from the engineering department asking for ideas for student projects,” Robinson explained. “Our physical therapy and speech therapy teams were already incorporating hippotherapy into our pro bono clinic, but a few of our patients had difficulty mounting and dismounting the horses. We needed a safer, more inclusive way to help.”

The engineering capstone team — who will be HSU’s first graduating class in spring 2026 —includes students Brandon Still, Jeremiah Richard, and Jorge Perales-Garcia, under the direction of Dr. Vlad Ivashyn. The group will spend two semesters designing and building the custom lift.

“This lift will reduce the physical strain on therapists and volunteers, who currently require a team of one therapist and three volunteers per session,” Robinson said. “It also makes hippotherapy accessible to patients with a wider range of physical abilities.”

From equipping the Computer Science Department with new MacBook Air laptops to new simulators for the nursing department, the foundation’s grants support programs that directly enhance student learning.

2025–26 Funded Projects

• MacBook Air Laptops – Computer Science Department
• Flame atomic absorption (AA) spectrophotometer – Matching Grant – Chemistry Department
• Joni and Friends Family Retreat – Physical Therapy Department
• TI-84 Plus CE Python teacher kits – Math Department
• Shaken Baby Simulator – Nursing Department
• Patient lift for Hippotherapy Services – Engineering and Physical Therapy Department
• HSU Chorus Carnegie Hall Performance – Music Department
• Korr REEVUE Medical Rate Analysis System – Kinesiology, Health and Recreation
• Workshop & Master Class – Theatre Department
• Simulation Diagnostic Tools – Athletic Training
• December Commencement Award

While the foundation’s mission has evolved over time, its heart remains rooted in the same purpose: to empower faculty and students to pursue academic innovations that transform lives.

“Securing funding from multiple sources, including the Academic Foundation, is essential to achieving our long-term goals,” Robinson said. “This grant plays a critical role in helping us move forward.”