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DEAR COLLEAGUES

Welcome to the March ORI newsletter. I want to start by thanking my executive assistant Kelli Bond and Deanne Puca and Megan Looker from MarComm for creating this great new format for our newsletter. There are some great opportunities coming up in research and creative scholarship at WMU.

First, remember our interdisciplinary grant program has launched. If you’re interested in starting a team or looking for teams to join, reach out to your research officer or Kay Mortellaro who will help make your connections.

Also, we will be having a virtual Spring Convocation on Friday, April 16. There will be a chance to hear short-time talks by our first class of Presidential Innovation Professors and some of our award winners, view FRACAA winner posters and end with our award ceremony at noon.

I would also draw your attention to a collaborative project we have started with Human Resources to review our R positions at WMU. Read more about that below.

Lastly, I am excited to share our FY19 NSF HERD survey rankings of research expenditures. WMU can be proud to have risen to 255th in all universities, an increase of eight positions and 189 of all public universities. Together with WMed, our expenditures went up 18.4%. WMU expenditures alone went up 21.3%, and federal expenditures went up a whopping 33%. Thank you for all you have done to get us to a level of expenditures last seen in FY12.

As always, we welcome your feedback, questions and ideas. Our team is here to help you advance your research and creative scholarship at Western Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦Óà University.

Regards,
Terri Goss Kinzy, Ph.D.
Vice President for Research and Innovation

Upcoming Events

ORAU's 76th Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institution: March 8 to 11

2021 Discovery Acceleration Workshop, "Appointment on Grants," Grants and Contracts: Noon to 1 p.m., March 22

ITEEG proposals due: March 23

Virtual Research Poster Presentation: April 5 to 8

2021 Spring Convocation: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., April 16

Summer 2021 salary worksheet now available
The salary worksheet for faculty summer 2021 grant pay is now available and open for submission. View instructions and the form itself in the forms section. Complete this form before submitting the PSHR workflow form.

March Discovery Acceleration Workshop scheduled
The March Discovery Acceleration Workshop titled "Appointments on Grants" will be at noon on Monday, March 22. Grants and Contracts will host this session to help with the what, how and when to appoint personnel on grants. This will be a great session for faculty and department administrators.

Inaugural ITEEG grant announced
ORI is pleased to announce the inaugural Interdisciplinary Team Excellence Enhancement Grant (ITEEG). This new program will stimulate the creation of interdisciplinary research and creative scholarship groups around any topic that is likely to be supported by future external federal, state or private funding. ITEEG will provide $100,000 in funds, provided by ORI and the Meader Presidential Endowment, to initiate activities to advance the team. Additional funds are available up to $250,000, provided by ORI, the Meader Presidential Endowment and the Office of the Provost, for equipment to support the teams. Teams will be supported by ORI during the course of the grant and will assist in hosting an Innovation Networking Session to bring together members of the WMU community around the team’s research topic. Proposals are due in by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23.

Interdisciplinary work pushes fields forward and accelerates scientific discovery and creative accomplishments. Important ideas often transcend the scope of a single discipline or program and undertakes challenges in innovative ways. This program is an extension of the efforts made in the last few years to develop networks of faculty, staff and students around areas of research and creative scholarship where multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches can result in innovative and more efficient advances.

Virtual Research Poster Presentations to be held in April
The Graduate College is coordinating a virtual event in lieu of the annual Research and Creative Scholarship Poster and Performance Day to highlight graduate student research and creative scholarship. The University community will be able to view the presentations online Monday through Thursday, April 5 to 8. More information will be available. Posters will be viewable for four days allowing judges to access the platform and assess posters on their own time.

This is an opportunity for graduate students to:

• Promote scholarly work.
• Gain experience in giving professional presentations.
• Enhance their resume and CV.
• Compete for prizes.

Opportunities to nominate students are available as nomination forms were emailed the first week in March. Email to learn more about serving as a judge or to volunteer.

Spring Convocation date set
Mark your calendars for Friday, April 16, for Spring Convocation 2021.  We will be virtual this year, but the program will include the same format as previous years. The day will begin with Fulbright with individual advising at 9 a.m. followed by Faculty Research Presentations, FRACAA poster presentation and Research Awards from noon to 12:30 p.m.  View the Spring Convocation website for more information closer to the date.

DMPTool available as a resource
The is a resource that helps with data management plans (DMP) for grant proposals. Researchers can search for funder requirements, explore plans written by other grant applicants and use templates to guide them through writing their own DMPs. You can request a review of your data management plan draft directly on the platform by contacting your data librarian through the request form or by email.

Funding available for graduate student research program
The ORI Incentive Program for Graduate Student Support on Externally-Funded Research Program—supported with funding from ORI and Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs—provides up to four credits of tuition or summer hourly pay for up to 150 hours each summer session for a graduate student to work on an externally funded research or creative scholarship grant or contract. To be eligible, sponsor funds must support the graduate student for a minimum of a one-half RA appointment for two semesters during the academic year. PIs must apply for the incentive funds prior to submitting the external funding proposal to the sponsor. Find more information on eligibility requirement and how to apply for the incentive program. For questions, contact Sarah Pratt or your ORI research officer.

GLOW video tutorial: How to find your grant balance
Grants and Contracts has a video tutorial to help you find your grant balance. There were some recent changes made to GLOW that did effect grant accounts (funds 25 to 30). The commitment column has been removed. On the Grants and Contracts Trainings website, you will also find a link to Accounting Services for other GLOW training videos.