The ORSP Update

Join us for Research and Creative Activity Day this Friday, April 4th, in Sykes Student Union! 

This day highlights student, faculty, and administrator research from all academic disciplines across our campus community. Also, check out our two new events: the Interdisciplinary Faculty Panel and the Faculty/Student Research Connection! See the event schedule below for more information. 

NEW: Student Research Hubs

This all-new resource for students is a one-stop-shop for information about the events, funding, publication, IRB, etc. CLICK HERE to view the Undergraduate Student Research Hub and CLICK HERE to view the Graduate Student Research Hub. This is an excellent resource to share with students interested in, or currently conducting, research and creative activity.  

Professional Development Opportunity: DREAM

DREAM is an AY-long professional development program for tenure-track/tenured faculty who are interested in becoming principal investigators of externally funded projects. Training will include best practices to identify funding opportunities, to build collaborations across disciplines and institutions, to communicate with a sponsor’s program officer, to write a grant proposal, and to ensure compliance with responsible conduct of research policies. In addition to the training, each participant will identify a professional mentor who will provide advice related to expanding the participants’ research and scholarly portfolios by developing funding proposals, executing sponsored research projects, and publishing results in peer‐ reviewed publications. Applications for DREAM will be announced on Tuesday, April 15th. Any questions? Email Catherine Spaur at CSpaur@wcupa.edu. 

NEW DATE: Grant Funding 201 Workshop

The Grant Funding 201 Workshop webinar has been moved to 04/21/2025! Click here and register to attend. See the flyer below for more information. 

Congratulations Dr. Beatrice Adera

Congratulations Professor Beatrice Adera on being selected to work with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology [JOOUST] in Kenya! Click here to view the press release announcement and learn more about her collaborative project titled Capacity Building to Enhance Disability Inclusion and Support for Students with Disabilities. We look forward to hearing about how this project makes a difference in the lives of students with disabilities in Kenya.

IRB Q&A Drop-In Sessions

The Spring 2025 schedule for the IRB Q&A drop-in sessions is here! Drop in at any time during the scheduled times to ak your application questions. Click here for more information!

Want your research to be highlighted? 

Submit your research story here! Follow us on Instagram to support our office and stay involved with WCU’s research community. Click here to view! 

Listen to ORSP's Podcast

Check out ORSP's new podcast, “Faculty Podcasts”! We currently have two episodes available on Spotify: “Connect and Conquer: The Power of Conversations with your Program Officer” and “Student Engagement in Research and Creative Activity”. Click here to tune in to these insightful conversations with our faculty guests.  Click here to listen on Spotify! 

                                                                                          

Faculty Spotlight

ORSP is delighted to put the research spotlight on Dr. Tom Kwiatkowski’s (Assistant Professor of Chemistry) project: 

“In an effort to improve student engagement and readiness for advanced chemistry labs, I have designed and am currently implementing a free General Chemistry lab manual for all CRL103 lab sections. This new manual follows a guided inquiry approach where students examine fundamental chemistry concepts through research-driven questions that align with lecture content.  In addition to reinforcing lab skills, the manual introduces new, exciting labs that emphasize critical thinking. Housed on D2L, the manual provides real-time feedback on pre-lab quizzes, a designated prelab document with videos and pictures for each lab, and the customizability for our faculty to tailor the manual to their teaching style.” 

 

Recently Awarded Grants

Simon Condliffe, CBPM: Center for Rural Pennsylvania - $35,560

* Grant currently being negotiated. Only primary PIs have been listed. Congratulations to all co-PIs on these projects!

Upcoming External Funding Opportunities

Arts & Humanities

05/07/2025: Publishing Historical Records in Collaborative Digital Editions FY 2026 - First Deadline

05/20/2025: Preservation and Access Education and Training

Health Sciences

05/26/2025: PA-25-169: Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

07/24/2025: Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants

Science & Mathematics

05/01/2025: Fund for Wild Nature Grant           

05/02/2025: Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) Department of Defense Army 

05/15/2025: 3D Printer Grants

05/25/2025: Fiscal Year 2026 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) 

05/25/2025: Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Defense (DoD) Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)      

05/26/2025: Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF) Annual Open Grant Program

06/30/2025: Solar Module and Solar Hardware (SMASH) Incubator            

Education & Social Work

04/25/2025:  William Penn Foundation - Early Childhood Education Program  

05/14/2025: The Spencer Foundation: Research Grants on Education  

 Interdisciplinary Opportunities 

05/01/2025: Diabetes Grant Program     

05/25/2025: Environment and Public Space - Reduce Environmental Burdens      

Save the Dates