Anthropology research at California State University, Stanislaus will soon get a technological upgrade thanks to a quarter million dollar grant.

CSU Stanislaus was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to support the creation of the Deck Visual Anthropology Lab to equip and fund an undergraduate classroom and research lab.

The grant will fund the project for three years, paying for new cameras and accessories, editing workstations, digitizing equipment, computer storage, faculty release time for research, and student and faculty travel for fieldwork.

CSU Stanislaus Anthropology Professor Steve Arounsack will lead students in the lab to collect, document, analyze and disseminate cultural knowledge of the Central Valley.

"In so doing, we will enable our diverse student population to engage in cross-cultural filmmaking and ethnographic interviewing while exploring the interface between traditional research methods and new technologies," Arounsack said. "We will create a digital archive of cultural visual media, which can then become a resource for classroom instruction and future research."

The lab will combine anthropology, art, communication studies and ethnic s studies, Arounsack said.

"More than ever, visual media are ubiquitous, powerful avenues for instruction and awareness," Arounsack said. "This lab responds to those trends by offering a solid academic foundation by which to study and preserve the Central Valley's cultural heritage."

Arounsack will join the project along with anthropology department chair professor Richard H. Wallace and art professor Jeffica Gomula-Kruzic.