Call for Proposals for the
Faculty Research and Development Committee

The Committee for Faculty Research and Development invites proposals from full-time faculty members of West Virginia State University who seek funds to support research and/or publication projects.  General guidelines and requirements are set forth in the Faculty Handbook and the Faculty Development Handbook.  Since there is no application form per se, faculty members interested in applying for a research or publication grant should observe the requirements below.  Additional criteria, depending on the compliance requirements of the funding sources for these grants, may be relevant at some future time.

Timeline and Deadlines
The deadline for complete proposals is 5 p.m., Thursday, November 15th, 2012.  The Committee will then meet to evaluate the applications and notify the successful applicants of its recommendation before the end of the fall term.  The Vice President of Academic Affairs then determines which candidates receive the awards. 
The deadline for completing the research or publication activity is Monday, August 19, 2013.  

And the deadline for submitting to the Committee the completion paperwork for fall 2011 proposals is Tuesday, September 10, 2013.

Guidelines
The Committee evaluates the proposals for doing scholarly and scientific investigations according to the value of the work to the University, its students, and the scholarly community.  The guidelines are based on those in the Faculty Development Handbook and previous Committee operating procedures.  If the research involves human or animal subjects, the WVSU Institutional Review Board must approve the project before the Committee recommends the successful applicants to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  

Funds are to be granted to faculty whose activities are clearly research oriented and which may result in a tangible end product , that is, a paper, article, book, conference presentation, research finding, film, performance, etc.  Funds may be used for travel, materials and supplies, certain equipment, and other items that may be considered justifiable.

Examples of faculty research grants include

 n Funds for equipment to measure air quality in Kanawha County
 n Funds for supplies to produce a documentary film
 n Funds to travel to Washington, D.C., to work on a biographical article

Faculty publication grants support the writing of academic articles and books to be submitted for publication.  Normally such grants are made as summer travel reimbursements or for expenses directly related to research, such as books, copying, supplies and equipment (and any equipment will be the property of the University).

Total possible annual funding allocated this year is $10,000.  In the past, individual awards  have averaged around $1,000.

All proposals should contain the following information:

Identifying Information
Title of Proposal
Name of Applicant
Department
Address, Telephone number, E-mail address

Details of the Project
1. Provide an abstract or outline of the proposed project, including your methodology.  This includes a clear indication that you will be able to complete the project.

2. State the approximate time period you will engage in the project.  Remember that it must be 
    completed by August 19, 2013.

3. List all participants (students, other faculty, etc.) to be involved in the project.

4. Indicate how the research will benefit students at WVSU.

5. Indicate the amount of funds requested and include a budget that reflects how the Committee’s 
    funds will be used.

6. State whether part or the entire project is, or might be, potentially funded by other sources.

7. Explain any ethical concerns about the project.  Research involving animals or human subjects 
    must meet federal guidelines and be approved by the WVSU Institutional Review Board.  The
       Chair of the IRB is Dr. Robert Harris, Department of Biology (Hamblin 143).  

8. Explain your plans for sharing the results of your research with WVSU faculty, staff, and students in the year following the conclusion of your work.  A recommended venue is the WVSU Faculty Lecture Series.  Publication grant proposals should indicate a description of specific journals or publishers likely to consider the work.

9. Complete the WVSU Research and Development Corporation travel grant request form, if out-of-state travel is involved.

10. Include letters of support from your department chair and college dean.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. The faculty member proposing a research and/or publication project is responsible for providing five paper copies of the Identifying Information and Project Details Numbers 1-10, outlined above.

Send four of the copies to Dr. Anne McConnell, Chair of the R & D Committee (Hill Hall 205) and the other copy to, the Faculty Development Coordinator, Mrs. Patricia Shafer (Ferrell 131).  If the research project involves human or animal subjects, include the approval from the WVSU IRB.

You may make inquiries via e-mail to Anne McConnell (amcconnell@wvstateu.edu).  If you prefer to send the application in electronically, you can send it to that address.