| Colleagues, Recently, I gathered with many who came from far and wide to celebrate the career of fellow Regents Professor John Reganold. John was a Crop and Soils faculty member in WSU’s Organic Agriculture program. It was impressive to see the many people he had influenced, but it was equally fascinating to see the many colleagues on whose work influenced and informed his career. Former WSU faculty and USDA ARS scientist Bob Papendick was one person that nearly all the speakers mentioned in their tributes to John. Bob led the study team for the first USDA report on organic agriculture[1] which was later described as “destined to be a milestone in the evolution of agriculture’s scientific paradigm”[2]. What was evident to me that night was a community of scholars and practitioners who applied their scientific knowledge to a societal problem that has now founded a new industry and academic majors to serve that industry. This is the epitome of our land-grant mission. What are WSU’s research strengths, how do we build upon these to expand into new fields of excellence, what challenges do we face, and how should we invest limited resources to drive our path forward? Last fall, the president set enhancing our research competitiveness, particularly through sponsored research, as a strategic goal and priority. Last winter, the Office of Research formed the Enhancing Research Competitiveness Working Group to address these questions. Representing research administrators and leading research faculty from every college and campus in our system, this group donated their valuable time to survey multiple groups around our system to understand perceptions of excellence and define widely accepted metrics for research strengths. We analyzed our sponsored research, publication, and news media data. Using these data and qualitative surveys, the group assessed our strengths and suggested steps to move forward. I am pleased and enhance to announce the Enhancing Research Competitiveness Report, which is summarized and available for download on our website. We have been vetting this report with WSU leadership groups across the system who have all given input that has improved the product. This milestone is not the end, but rather the beginning of an effort to understand and enhance our research competitiveness. This report is not a strategic plan nor an investment model. Instead, it reflects our institution’s sponsored research enterprise as it stands today. We need to know where we are to understand how to move forward. Towards this end, we view it as a decision-support tool. One tool among others that will assist in enhancing our research enterprise. As some colleagues have pointed out, this report misses essential parts of our university community, and we agree. The reliance on external sponsored research funding often excludes the role of the arts and humanities whose research and creative activity are not captured in these metrics. Likewise, the metric addressing the number of researchers in a specific area can diminish the role of individual faculty driving particular areas of excellence. Last fall, we formed the Working Group on Advancing Arts & Humanities to similarly provide a view of areas of excellence and recommendations for growth. We are working collaboratively with this group and others to develop additional programs assessing these needs and will report on them in the future. I hope you take time to read this report, and I want to express my thanks to everyone who assisted in this work to date. Michael P. Wolcott Regents Professor Interim Vice President for Research [1] USDA Study Team on Organic Farming (US). Report and recommendations on organic farming. U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1980. [2] Harwood R. A look back at USDA’s Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture. 1993. 8(4):150-154. doi:10.1017/S0889189300005270 |
| Research Happens Every Day Research Happens Every Day. Whether in the classroom, lab, studio, field site, or in communities, WSU faculty tackle difficult problems every day. The Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships (ORAP) will be hosting events highlighting the diversity of WSU research and creative practice and providing workshops, information sessions, and other training opportunities year-round. This month’s spotlight event celebrates and honors Hispanic Heritage Month. The Latinx/e and Hispanic Research and Cultural Production at WSU panel discussion includes faculty across campuses in an open discussion about the diverse research in these fields happening at WSU. Each panel member will present a 5-minute flash talk with a Q&A period to follow. Join us via Zoom from noon – 1 p.m., on September 26. RSVP online to attend. |
| Upcoming Events New Faculty Information Series The Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships (ORAP) is pleased to present the New Faculty Information Series, an introduction to the requirements and available resources for developing and supporting research and/or an artistic practice at WSU. Over the course of three weekly Tuesday afternoon sessions, from 2-3 p.m., September 24, October 1, and October 8, new faculty will learn about the grant process at WSU and the support services provided by ORAP – from finding funding, grant proposal development, to creating and maintaining compliant research and artistic programs. This series will be offered via Zoom, allowing time for attendees to ask questions. Each session is open to new faculty across all disciplines and campuses and will be recorded and accessible on the ORAP website for (re)viewing at a later date. To receive the Zoom details, RSVP for each session. For questions or concerns about this series, please contact or.orap.servicedesk@wsu.edu. RA & $10k Flash Talks Finalists for the RA & $10k competition will pitch their proposals in a 3-minute flash talk. Come to this virtual event at 10 a.m., on September 24, to support your colleagues, learn about newly developing research at WSU, and to hear more about this and other internal research funding opportunities. Finding Funding in Arts and Humanities Do you know which federal and non-federal sponsors are interested in funding arts and humanities research and creative activity? Come to this Finding Funding session to learn the ins and outs of searching the Pivot database for funding opportunities specific to arts and humanities. Emily Brashear, the Office of Research Advancement and Partnership’s Pivot expert, will help you set up notifications, track funding opportunities, find collaborators, and share opportunities with your coworkers. Join us from noon – 1 p.m., on October 3. RSVP to attend. WSU Cannabis Symposium 2024 WSU’s Center for Cannabis Policy, Research and Outreach (CCPRO) is hosting the first annual WSU Cannabis Symposium. The focus of this year’s symposium is to clarify and summarize how WSU researchers can be involved in cannabis-related research, support development of collaborative efforts between WSU cannabis researchers and stakeholders, and seek guidance from the WSU cannabis research community members regarding how CCPRO may best serve them. Join us in person at the Compton Union Building Junior Ballroom from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., on October 4. Cost of attendance will be $10 per person. Please register to attend by Wednesday, September 25 to ensure lunch will be provided. Community Engaged Research Seed Grant Program Q&A Join the Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships at 2 p.m., on October 10, for a virtual question and answer session to learn more about the INSPIRE! Community Engaged Research Program’s multiple tiers of funding that are intended to support diverse types and stages of community-engaged research. Understand the requirements and prepare to submit your Notice of Intent for the 12-month Community Engaged Research Tier Two Seed Grants of up to $10,000 for WSU Pullman faculty who are new to community engaged research or creative activity. INSPIRE! Community Engaged Research Seed Grants are administered by the Office of Research with support from the WSU Pullman Chancellor’s Office and only Pullman faculty are eligible to apply. Climate & Coffee: Network and Brainstorm about Issues Related to Climate Change Build your network and casually explore opportunities to engage in research addressing issues related to climate change! The Center for Environmental Research, Education, and Outreach (CEREO) is hosting our inaugural Climate & Coffee session to bring together individuals interested in further developing or initiating research ideas related to climate change issues. Join us at 2 p.m., on Wednesday, October 16, in Lighty 405. We’ll start with opportunities to network over coffee and snacks, followed by time to brainstorm research ideas. You are welcome to bring ideas in any stage of development, from a spark of interest but no prior experience, to a resubmission of an existing idea. We will provide “food for thought” in the form of actual food and an overview of three current RFPs that might be of interest to the CEREO community. New RFPs from diverse funding sources will be highlighted in each subsequent session. We welcome participants to come with other RFPs they are interested in too. Learn more about CEREO. Please contact Sasha McLarty at sasha.richey@wsu.edu with questions about Climate & Coffee. Information Session: Life Cycle of a Grant Discover how the Office of Research can help you throughout the life cycle of your grant. Join Cheryl Dykstra-Aiello and Lydia Baxter-Howard from the Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships (ORAP) who will provide an overview of how the Office of Research can help you to develop and submit a grant proposal, ensure you have a compliant research program, and manage and license your intellectual property. Join us at 11 a.m., on October 17 for a virtual event held via Zoom. RSVP is required. Information Session: PI Roles and Responsibilities What is your role as the lead PI of a sponsored project? What legal responsibilities do you have and how do you navigate federal, state, and private award requirements? In this class, Levi O’Loughlin from the Office of Research Assurances (ORA) and Cheryl Dykstra-Aiello and Lydia Baxter-Howard from the Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships (ORAP) will help you explore these questions and more. Join us virtually via Zoom at 11 a.m., on October 22. RSVP for the Zoom meeting details. |
| Call for Proposals Arts & Humanities Process Grant Proposal As part of the Arts & Humanities Initiative sponsored by the Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships, competitions will be held for funds to support faculty’s needs for research, scholarship, and creative activity. The grants are intended to support smaller items needed such as: materials, printing, tools, software, permissions, services (transcription or translation), event support, marketing, participant stipends, etc. Travel is not an eligible expense. Grants are open to all faculty engaged in work based in the Arts & Humanities, regardless of track, campus, or unit. We especially encourage faculty of color, queer, trans, gender non-binary, working-class and other underrepresented individuals to apply. Recipients will share a 3-minute flash talk during an event in Fall 2024. Proposals for the Fall awards are open and will be due September 20. For questions about the Arts & Humanities Process Grants, email or.orap.servicedesk@wsu.edu. PCORI invites applications for high-quality comparative clinical effectiveness research projects All applications must align the proposed research with at least one of PCORI’s National Priorities for Health described within the PFA (increase evidence for existing interventions and emerging innovations in health; accelerate progress toward an integrated learning health system; achieve health equity; or advance the science of dissemination, implementation and health communication). Topic themes are also included in this funding opportunity. Applicants have the option to choose up to three Topic Themes based on how their proposed research aligns with the themes. However, aligning with a Topic Theme is not required. The National Priorities for Health and Topic Themes will assist PCORI in determining the optimal review pathway for the proposed research. Letter of Intent is due October 1. Advancing human-software interactions for intelligence activities in AI-supported team decision making The Collective Judgment Formation (CJF) Collaborative Research Alliance (CRA) program is focused on basic research to create and expand theoretical and scientific understanding of human-agent interactions in AI-supported team decision making. The representative domain for the program is intelligence activities. Work within this program will require the problem space to be addressed from multiple disciplinary perspectives working in concert to discover novel knowledge and to advance our scientific foundations of (a) humans working with each other and with novel forms of software agents and (b) teams of intelligence analysts responding to novel methods that create verbose structured and unstructured content. Through this CRA, ARL seeks to partner with performers to advance the scientific state-of-the-art in human-agent systems for intelligence activities. E8 Fellowship Program in partnership with WSU WSU E8 Fellowship Program for the upcoming Fall semester offers a unique opportunity to join a growing community and angel investors and supporters committed to advancing clean technologies in promising, early-stage companies across North America and beyond. Your participation offers direct access to companies and technologies, learning opportunities in early-stage finance and due diligence, networking with investors and entrepreneurs and partners, and experience in team collaboration. Overall, the E8 Fellowship is a chance to, through the early stage and collaborative pitching and investment process, see first-hand the scope and questions that must be explored when evaluating business investments in clean-technology opportunities. Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program The Office of Commercialization is excited to announce the Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) will begin accepting applications starting September 1! This postdoctoral program empowers our postdocs to transform groundbreaking research into the market through tailored mentorship, educational programming, and entrepreneurial resources. If you are interested in bringing your research to the market, this program is a unique opportunity that will allow you to do just that. |
| For Your Information Darrow joins SBDC to support small business growth with 1-to-1 business advising The Yakima County Development Association and the Washington Small Business Development Center are pleased to announce that Mike Darrow, a former small business owner himself, has been certified as an SBDC business advisor. |