Congratulations to our SU faculty and staff who submitted 84 proposals and received 48 new awards totaling $7,298,330 in new funding over the 2022-23 fiscal year (FY23)! This reflects an approximately 15% increase in funding received over last fiscal year. Keep an eye out for our annual report coming out toward the end of summer for more details.
As we close out FY23, I am feeling immensely grateful for the dedication of my OSP teammates – Kara Luckey and Sarah Bricknell, our Sponsored Research Officers, for working tirelessly to identify and share relevant funding opportunities, support the preparation of increasingly competitive proposals, and guide PIs through the management of awards; to Breena Stoner, our Academic Safety Officer, for strengthening SU’s academic safety structure and seeking out ways to create efficiencies while reducing costs; and to our newest OSP members – Aika Foz, Grant Management Specialist, and Magda Vidal, Program Coordinator - for bringing fresh energy and perspectives to our OSP team!
If you are on campus this summer, please stop by one of our Summer Research Coffee Breaks to say hello and mingle with others conducting research or other scholarly works. A reminder that the OSP is available all summer - please don't hesitate to reach out!
Jenna Isakson, MPA
Director, Office of Sponsored Projects
Many thanks to the 2022-23 OSP Advisory Council members who have provided critical support and insight to guide OSP initiatives and programs, and who have worked to advance scholarship more broadly at SU. OSP extends a particularly hearty thank you to those members rotating off the Council.
*Member rotating off the Council
The OSP was delighted to join Provost Martin and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Jodi O’Brien in recognizing the many accomplishments of SU faculty over the past year at the annual Provost’s Celebration of Faculty Scholarship and Achievements on May 25th, when Dr. Jacqueline B. Helfgott and Dr. Brett K. Kaiser were both honored as the Provost’s Awardees for Excellence in Scholarly Activity. We were also excited to present OSP Awards at our OSP PI Picnic held on May 17th to the following:
Congratulations to Dr. Whidbey on his submission of four competitive proposals this year to the National Institutes of Health, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and Beckman Foundation, resulting in at least one award with the others pending!
Congratulations to the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded team that has successfully led the six-year, over $1.8M ‘Revolutionizing Engineering Education through Industry Immersion and a Focus on Identity’ project!
Congratulations to Dr. Tung for his tireless efforts as a leader, mentor, and champion of several large and complex sponsored project pursuits supporting the revision and reimagining of SU’s curriculum, resulting in five proposals for which he serves as either Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI.
Congratulations on this team from the School Counseling and School Psychology programs for their persistence and ultimately successful proposal to the Department of Education for their program ‘Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline.’ The team’s PSP award will create a pipeline of mental health professionals in high-need schools in the Puget Sound region.
Wed, July 19th and Wed, Aug 23rd 10:00-11:00am | Sinegal Patio
Co-sponsored with the College of Science & Engineering
All summer researchers – faculty and students – as well as support staff, are invited to join the OSP for coffee and donuts on the patio behind Sinegal. Drop-in and take a break whenever you’re able!
On April 25th, the OSP and Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons hosted four faculty who shared their experiences with and best practices for incorporating undergraduates into their research programs. OSP also provided a brief overview of resources on campus to support undergraduate research. Many thanks to those who presented: Yen Tran from Lemieux Library, Jackie Helfgott and Erica Rauff from Arts & Sciences, as well as Brett Kaiser and Pasha Tabatabai from Science & Engineering. Recordings and slides from each talk are available here on Seattle University’s ScholarWorks.
Please help the OSP to understand how our services currently support your scholarship, and how we can improve them to most effectively support you in pursuing external funding and managing awards by taking our 3-4 minute OSP End of the Year Survey! Your insights will also help us to develop programming for AY23-24 and beyond. Thank you!
A reminder that OSP is here throughout the summer to support faculty and staff in exploring avenues of support of their scholarship to in making use of the wealth of resources available on our website and on our Events and Workshops Materials Archive this summer. Resources are available to support multiple dimensions of your scholarship, including:
Please do not hesitate to reach out to the Sponsored Research Officer who works with your unit:
Sarah Bricknell, MBA, CRA (bricknellsar@seattleu.edu) supports faculty and staff in Arts & Sciences, Center for Community Engagement, Education, Law, and Biology (Science & Engineering)
Kara Luckey, PhD (kluckey@seattleu.edu) supports faculty and staff in Albers, Nursing, and Science & Engineering (except Biology)
Jenna Isakson, MPA, CRA (isaksonj@seattleu.edu) supports all Provost and other institutional office efforts
Seattle University requires an internal review and selection process for any funding opportunity that limits the number of applications, nominations, or proposals that an institution is eligible to submit to a sponsor (referred to as “limited submissions”). Please review the Limited Submission Process for full details.
The Carnegie Corporation recently announced the new guidelines for the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, which include a new focus on political polarization in the United States. Fellows will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Political polarization is characterized by threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration. Studies of polarization in other countries will be considered providing they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States.
Seattle University is allowed two nominations for the program – one for a junior faculty (PhD/terminal degree earned between 2013 and 2023) and one for a senior faculty (PhD/terminal degree granted prior to 2013). If you are interested in learning more or being considered for a nomination, please reach out to OSP at osp@seattleu.edu. More information, including deadlines and application requirements, will be available in the fall.
Congratulations to the below investigators who were recently awarded funding to support Seattle University research and initiatives*! With the below, SU has 98 active awards as of June 30, 2023.
Carlyn Ferrari | Mellon Fellowship in Democracy and Landscape Studies | Dumbarton Oaks
Sarah Cate | Punishment, Inequality and Education: Evaluating Changes to the School-to-Prison Pipeline | American Political Science Association
David Fainstein | School Psychology Renewal for All Washington Learners (SPRAWL) | Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board
Jason Parkin, Mary Amanda Graham, and David Fainstein | Puget Sound Partnership to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline | U.S. Department of Education
Kerry Soo Von Esch | Promoting Asset-Based Science Teaching for Emergent Language Learners (PASTEL) | University of Washington (James S. McDonnell Foundation Understanding Teacher Change and Teachers as Learners) (renewal)
Braxton Cuneo | CEMeNT: Center for Exascale Monte Carlo Neutron Transport: A PSAAP-III Focused Investigatory Center | Oregon State University (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration)
Henry Louie | Collaborative Conference: Electricity Access and Sustainable Business Model Educators Workshop | National Science Foundation
Lupita Torrez | Early Learning Services | Bainum Family Foundation
LaKesha Kimbrough | Seattle University Youth Initiative Washington Middle School Redhawk Academic Mentoring | Seattle Public Schools Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy (competitive renewal)
In addition to the above awardees, we would like to congratulate the 11 Principal Investigators in Arts & Sciences, Center for Community Engagement, Nursing, and Science & Engineering who submitted 14 proposals this quarter.
*Note: This list comprises all new and renewed sponsored projects awarded in the final quarter of the current fiscal year (April 1 to June 30, 2023). For a complete list of funds awarded in previous fiscal quarters, please see past OSP Observers, here.
Jason Parkin, Assistant Clinical Professor of School Psychology
Mary Amanda Graham, Program Director and Professor of School Counseling
David Fainstein, Assistant Professor of School Psychology
Puget Sound Partnership to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline | U.S. Department of Education
In response to the growing mental health crisis among youth, Seattle University College of Education (COE) was awarded a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help address the shortage of diverse mental health care providers in public schools. The five-year grant will support the project, called the Puget Sound Partnership to Expand and Diversify the Mental Health Service Professional Pipeline, and assist COE school psychology and school counseling graduate students with scholarships and other financial support. The grad students will work directly with students in local school districts.
Congratulations to the team that led the effort to secure the grant – Assistant Clinical Professor of School Psychology Jason Parkin, PhD, Professor and Program Director of School Counseling Mary Amanda Graham, PhD, and David Fainstein, PhD, Assistant Professor of School Psychology.
“The adolescent mental health crisis has been exacerbated by the shortage of school-based mental health professionals,” says Professor Parkin. “We’re proud that our school psychology and counseling training programs at Seattle University are in a position to address these challenges.”
Professor Graham called the effort a creative and innovative project shared between the departments of school counseling and school psychology, saying it will establish a foundation of professional collaboration and connection in the field of practice.
“This grant will act as a pathway to support students from marginalized communities to serve high-needs schools,” says Professor Graham.
In exchange for a commitment to work in high-need schools after graduation, SU will provide meaningful, need-based scholarships and stipends to lower barriers to attendance and subsidize practicum and internship costs. Stipends can be used to pay for expenses like travel and childcare.
“I am most excited about using the majority of our federal grant funds to directly support SU students in their school-based mental health graduate programming,” says Professor Fainstein.
For more on the latest sponsored research activity at SU, check out the News & Awards page on the OSP website!
A reminder to SU investigators to please ensure that all personnel working on your research team – students, staff and faculty – are up-to-date on their Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training. RCR training is required for all NSF and NIH personnel and strongly encouraged for all other researchers to uphold SU's commitment to responsible and ethical research. This training should be completed at least every four years. More information and to access the CITI Training Modules is available here.
To simplify and streamline internal approval processes, the OSP is moving most forms, such as quarterly reports, closeout forms, stipend request forms, and institutional prior approval forms, to DocuSign. Please contact Aika Foz, Grant Management Specialist (foza@seattleu.edu) with any questions or issues with accessing your forms.
In an effort to consolidate resources for guidance regarding grant spending, the OSP has curated guidance on common processes that you may encounter as a PI or Budget Manager, including hiring students, travel, reimbursements, paying contractors or subawards, purchasing supplies, and more-. Please find our Expenditure ‘How-to’ Guide here. For any questions with the processes outlined in the guide, or others not addressed, please contact Aika Foz, Grant Management Specialist (foza@seattleu.edu)
A reminder that many sponsors, including private foundations, are beginning to require the use of ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), a persistent digital identifier that the investigator owns and controls. For example, the National Science Foundation will require ORCIDs beginning in October 2023, and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) highly encourages – and requires, for some programs – that investigators provide an ORCID. OSP recommends that active SU investigators register for an ORCID so that you’re prepared for future requirements!
Spring 2023 Virtual NSF Grants Conference – Materials Available: Recordings and slides from the NSF annual conference held June 5-8 are now available here. Sessions include informative presentations by Program Officers on the funding priorities of specific NSF Directorates, as well as overviews of the proposal preparation and Merit Review processes.
SciENcv to be required for all NSF Biosketches and Current & Pending Support, effective October 20, 2023: NSF has announced that all proposers must exclusively use SciENcv for preparation of Biographical Sketches and Current & Pending Support documents. The currently-available fillable PDF options for these documents will no longer be accepted. Short video tutorials on using SciENcv to create NSF documents are posted here.
As always, your Sponsored Research Officer is available to help faculty understand all requirements of the NSF – please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions about the SciENcv requirement!
NIH R15 webinar: Investigators interested in pursuing funding through the NIH R15 program are highly encouraged to view the recent webinar hosted by NIH. The two R15 programs – Academic Research Enhancement Awards for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (AREA) and the Research Enhancement Awards Program (REAP) for Health Professionals and Graduate Schools provide funding to small-scale institutions that do not receive major support from NIH (greater than $6M annually) in order to (a) advance meritorious research, (b) expose students to research, and (c) strengthen the research environment of institutions. The video recording, slides, and transcript are now available, along with more details here.
Lessons Learned from Two Decades of Publishing with Undergraduates (National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity): Explores the benefits of conducting research with undergraduates, and tips for effectively working and publishing with students (recording here).
Grant-Seeking for Mid-Career Faculty (Hanover Research): Overview of funding opportunities available specifically to investigators who are no longer eligible for early career funding, but have not built a record suitable for fostering effective collaboration and teamwork for developing competitive proposals (Slides and recording available)
The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) – dedicated to advancing diversity in academia and supporting faculty in successfully navigating academic careers – provides many excellent resources, all of which are available to faculty through SU’s institutional membership. Instructions for activating your membership are here. Upcoming programs that may be of interest:
Cultivating your Network of Mentors, Sponsors, & Collaborators | Thurs, Aug 10th (11-12:30) – Registration here
The Art of Saying No | Thurs, July 13th (11:00-12:30) – Registration here
Fall 2023 14-Day Writing Challenge – NCFDD’s quarterly program which provides a structured and supportive environment to commit and be accountable to daily writing | October 9th – 22nd – More information and registration (open through October 4th) here.
Fall 2023 Faculty Success “Bootcamp” Program – Registration is now open for the fall session of this popular, and by many accounts exceedingly helpful, 12-week online program designed to guide and coach tenure-track and tenured faculty in developing skills to maximize productivity while maintaining a healthy relationship to work. Session runs from August 27th – November 18th 2023. More information and registration here; Information about program costs and approaches to covering them is here.
The Office of Sponsored Projects is here to help!
We are here to support the full life-cycle of your research and scholarship – from identifying funding opportunities and creating a research plan, developing and submitting competitive proposals, and managing awards. Please reach out to us to request a consultation, notify us of your intent to apply for a funding opportunity, or for help with managing your award!
Please direct any suggestions about how we can make the quarterly OSP Observer most useful to Kara Luckey – we welcome your thoughts!
