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Letter from the VPR
Colleagues,
I distinctly remember my new faculty orientation at WSU. It was the summer of 2005, and I was sitting in the Todd Hall auditorium listening to a rotating group of faculty and administrators talk about everything from academic integrity policies to health insurance to tenure and promotion. Then as now, as a new academic year begins, I know how overwhelming this time can feel. Whether you’re brand new or have been here a while, there is no shortage of emails, updates, trainings, and to-dos coming at you from every direction.
That’s why it is also the perfect time to pause and reconnect with the why behind what we do—teaching, research, and engagement. These aren’t just boxes to check. They’re at the heart of our mission. We educate the next generation to be stewards of our collective future. We pursue research that addresses real-world challenges. And we engage with our communities to ensure that what we do elevates and sustains them.
To help spotlight that impact, we launched a new Research Impact webpage that highlights how WSU research goes beyond labs and classrooms to make a difference in people’s lives. We’ll continue updating it throughout the year with your stories and successes.
Last spring we saw the beginning of significant changes in the federal research landscape. Despite ongoing challenges, there’s been progress over the summer: 10 of 36 terminated grants have been reinstated, and 11 of 20 stop work orders have been lifted. We closed FY25 up $2M in federal award totals compared to FY24, and proposal submissions were up slightly—1% over last year. That’s a testament to your dedication, adaptability, and support for one another.
At the same time, new terms and conditions on incoming awards—shaped by recent executive orders and legal challenges—pose potential risks to our operations. We will also be extending proposal review timelines to ensure compliance with new federal requirements. I ask that you work closely with your unit and college grant teams to meet these internal deadlines.
Last week, the president signed a new executive order, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. It outlines a range of changes, including: 1) political appointee reviews of funding opportunities and awards, 2) new annual oversight procedures, and 3) required termination clauses in all discretionary grants. The administration has put a temporary hold on new FOAs until this new review process is in place. We are expecting legal challenges to this EO. We will continue to monitor these developments and we will update you as things evolve. If you need support finding new funding or would like assistance with proposal development, please reach out to our research development team. We are here to help.
As we head into fall semester, I encourage you to take a moment—amid the meetings, deadlines, and course prep—to reflect on our shared mission. Reconnect with a colleague, offer a word of support, or just take a breath. Twenty years after that first day in Todd Hall, I’m reminded that what truly anchors us isn’t the policies or processes that continue to change—but the people, the purpose, and the passion that brought us here in the first place. Welcome back.
Kim Christen
Vice President for Research
Federal Updates
Training Requirements for Federally Funded Research Proposal Submissions
To remain in compliance with federal requirements—including those outlined in the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-33), the CHIPS and Science Act, and directives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)—WSU has developed a Research Security Program and updated the required trainings that are necessary prior to submitting any federally funded proposals.
Principal Investigators should ensure that all covered individuals on their proposals have completed Research Security training within Percipio and the Financial Conflicts of Interest (FCOI) and Responsible Conduct for Researchers (RCR) trainings within the CITI platform.
Research Security Training Enrollment Steps (CITI)
- Follow the link to CITI
- Select “LOG IN THROUGH MY ORGANIZATION” and select the Washington State University
- Login using your WSU Network ID
- Make sure you are up to date on your FCOI and RCR trainings.
Research Security Training Enrollment Steps (Percipio)
- Access the “Research Security – Manage and Mitigate Risk” training in Percipio
- Login using your WSU Network ID
- Launch the training module
- Complete the training and ensure that the above link states “Completed” for the module
Upcoming Events
Office of Research Office Hours
Join Cheryl Dykstra-Aiello and Lydia Baxter-Howard, Research and Proposal Development Specialists in the Office of Research, at 12:00 pm on alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays for answers to your proposal development related questions. This semester, office hours will include Q&A sessions focused on various grant-writing and proposal-related topics but feel free to bring grant proposal questions you may have.
- Tues. Sept. 2 – OR Services and Resources
- Wed. Sept. 10 – The New Federal Funding Landscape
- Tues. Sept. 16 – Proposal Development – General Information
- Wed. Sept. 24 – WSU Grant Lifecycle
- Tues. Sept. 30 – Grant Writing – General Information
- Wed. Oct. 8 – Finding Funding
- Tues. Oct. 14 – PI Roles & Responsibilities
- Wed. Oct. 22 – Research Compliance and Ethics
- Tues. Oct. 28 – Broader Impacts
- Wed. Nov. 5 – Research Impact Metrics
- Wed. Nov. 19 – Proposal Development – General Information
RSVP for the Zoom link and calendar invite.
Information Session: Intro to the Office of Research and Life Cycle of a Grant
Discover how the Office of Research can help you throughout the life cycle of your grant. Join Lydia Baxter-Howard on Wednesday, September 17, 2025 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm for an overview of how the we can help you to develop and submit a grant proposal, ensure you have a compliant research program, and manage and license your intellectual property.
RSVP for the Zoom link and calendar invite.
For Your Information
Big Idea Ventures Developing Partnerships at WSU for Agricultural Technologies
Big Idea Ventures, an accelerator focused on launching new ventures based on university-developed technologies, visited WSU in July of 2025 to explore possible funding opportunities out of their GFRP Fund. The GFRP Fund is a venture-building initiative focused on transforming university-based innovations into market-ready startups. By de-risking early-stage technologies, the fund helps bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application, with a strong emphasis on startup formation.
During the day-long visit, GFRP representatives met with WSU researchers across multiple disciplines to explore potential partnerships. The Office of Commercialization facilitated the meetings and is now coordinating follow-up discussions to identify additional areas of collaboration.
This engagement marks an exciting step toward translating WSU’s research excellence into real-world impact, and the Office of Commercialization looks forward to working with the GFRP Fund to accelerate innovation and support the development of new ventures in the AgTech space.
The collaboration aligns with WSU’s mission to foster innovation and economic development through strategic partnerships and technology commercialization.
For more information about the Generation Food Rural Partners Fund or WSU’s commercialization efforts, please contact the Office of Commercialization.