RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH COMMITTEE

FUNDING REPORT on FALL 2011 ACTIVITIES

Prepared by: Azenett A. Garza, Chair

During the Fall 2011 term, the RSPG committee issued a request for proposals in the funding categories of Research, Instructional Improvement, and Hemingway Faculty Vitality.  The deadline for applications was on October 17, 2011.  By that date, the committee received 21 applications, representing six of the seven colleges on campus. On this occasion, no proposals from the College of Health Professions were received.  About 52% of the received applications requested funding for travel to either conduct research or present scholarly work in a conference.  Eleven proposals were directed to the Hemingway Faculty Vitality Fund ($12,710 requested), while ten applied for the RSPG/Instructional Improvement and Research funds ($22,862).  The total amount of funding requests was $35,572, while the committee had $27,462 to allocate (about 77% of the total requested).  The total of amount of funds to expend ($27,462) included $17,108 for research and instructional improvement (RSPG) projects, $10,354 for faculty vitality projects (HMWY).

The committee met on October 24, 2011 to consider the applications.  The meeting was well-attended, and each proposal received a thorough review with discussion and deliberation.  The decisions were difficult to make as the proposal pool was competitive, while the funds were limited.  After careful deliberation, the committee awarded—either partially or in full—18 of the 21 applications, and allocated a total of $25,482.  The average amount of funding per proposal was $1,415.  Unfortunately, several strong proposals were left without funding. 

Details of the requests, awards, and the recipients with project titles are presented below. 

RSPG Research/Instructional Improvement     (All funds spent)

·         Requests:  11 applications, total $22,862

·         Awarded: 10 (91% of) applications; $17,108

Hemingway Faculty Vitality                           

·         Requests: 10 applications, total  $12,710

·         Awarded: 8 (80% of) applications; $8,374

·         Remaining balance: $1,980

Colleges Represented in the funding total:

College                        # of applications          Funds awarded            % of total awarded

A&H               (7)                                $10,603                       42

Science                        (4)                                $7,545                         30

COAST            (3)                                $2,860                        11

SBS                  (2)                                $1,584                        6

Education        (2)                                $1,640                                     11                   

B&E                (0)                                $0                                0

                        (18)                              $25,482

After the Fall 2011 funding decisions, the RSPG committee reports a remaining total of $1,980 (Hemingway Vitality).  This money will carry over to the Spring 2012 funding cycle within the same category.

The RSPG committee will accept applications for Spring 2012 in two calls for proposals.  The first call includes the Hemingway Collaborative and Excellence Awards (deadline February 13, 2012).  The second call for is for RSPG research and Instructional Improvement proposals as well as for the Hemingway Vitality, New Faculty, and Adjunct proposals (deadline March 19).  More information about the awards is posted on the RSPG web site (http://weber.edu/rspg).   The CFP with instructions and deadlines was mailed to all faculty in the beginning of the spring semester. 

The RSPG committee looks forward to receiving applications and supporting faculty projects in 2012.

Fall 2011 RSPG Research and Instructional Improvement Grant Recipients

Jackson, Justin (Engineering) ASEE Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, $1,200.

Kennedy, Kerry (Social Work) Mental Health Court: A participant's perspective, $225.

Kokai, Jennnifer (Performing Arts) Mermaids, pigs, and obscene octopi: The underwater spectacular

and the U.S. Imagination 1939-Present, $2,960.

Lawrence, Joanne (Performing Arts) Instructional development of a hybrid course: CA/DV DANC

1010, Intro to Dance, 2,533.

Meyers, Ron (Zoology) Syrinx muscle morphology in songbirds, 3,560 (of which $560 if from

Hemingway Vitality).

Okazaki, Robert (Zoology) Survey of Nemertean Predators on the Eggs of the blue crabs from Costa

Rica, $1,642.

Skopec, Michele (Zoology) The role of COMT in woodrat hoarding behavior, $1,460.

Speicher, Tim (Health Promotion) Comparison of positional release therapy, thermal ultrasound, and

patterned electrical neuromuscular stimulation on tissue compliance and pressure sensitivity threshold of upper trapezius trigger points, $1,640.

Szalay, Eve (Foreign Languages) Meeting the requirements of a changing German program with

continuing education through The Goethe Institute Online Business Course, $828.

Wolochowicz, Stephen (Visual Arts) Three Gallery Exhibitions, $1,620.

Hemingway Faculty Vitality Grant Recipients

Crimmel, Hal (English) The Way Rivers Are Supposed to Be, $1,395.

Chan, Julian (Mathematics) Travel to support research on a current project in time series with several

coauthors, $883.

Green, Diana (Engineering) Developing soft skills: Strategies and activities for the business

education curriculum, $660.

Johns, Becky (Communication) Travel expenses for conference to present paper, $567.

Little, Brandon (History) Archival research for a scholarly article: "The ties that bind: Australians,

Belgian relief, and the illusion of distant suffering, 1914-1919", $1,359.

Orr, Rick (Engineering Technology) ASEE CIEQ Presentation, $1,000.

Palumbo, Michael (Performing Arts) American String Teachers Association Presentations, $700.

Williams, Natalie (Teacher Education) Travel to make three presentations at hawaii International

conference on education, $1,250.