CUSE Grant Program Funds 90 Projects

Syracuse University’s Office of Research has announced that it has awarded 90 projects for the inaugural round of its internal grant program to provide seed funding for faculty research and scholarly projects.

The funding effort, named the Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) grant program, supports faculty research in all disciplines, including basic, translational and applied sciences; social sciences; physical and life sciences; engineering; liberal arts and humanities; and professional studies, as well as creative research and other scholarly activities.

“I am very happy to see funding of various research projects across all disciplines as well as interdisciplinary, collaborative projects,” says Provost Michele Wheatly. “This seed funding will allow faculty members to generate preliminary data that is so essential for seeking extramural support.”

A total of $1.67 million was awarded for the 90 projects. Among the funded projects, 51 are in humanities, social sciences and creative research areas, and 39 are in STEM research areas. All schools and colleges that applied to the program are represented in the funded projects.

The grant program employed a peer review process, which vetted awards across 12 major University units and more than 40 departments, centers and institutes. According to Stuart Taub, director of the Office of Sponsored Programs and program support for the CUSE grant program, “The CUSE grant program would not have been possible without the generosity and tireless efforts of the review panel, which was composed of 40 reviewers from various disciplines, to adequately cover the diverse expertise areas of the applicants.”

The program funded four types of grants for its inaugural year:

• Seed Grant: The funding levels of these grants are capped at $5,000 per grant for a period of up to two years. Applications can be individuals or teams. (26 funded)

• Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant: Funding levels are capped at $30,000 per grant for a period of up to two years. Applications can be individuals (innovative) or teams (interdisciplinary research). (40 funded)

• Good to Great Grant: Funding levels are capped at $30,000 per grant for a period of up to two years. Applications can be individuals or teams. (6 funded)

• Interdisciplinary Seminar Grant: Funding levels are capped at $10,000 per grant. Applications can be individuals or teams. (18 funded)

In addition to supporting a wide range of disciplines, the CUSE grant program directly invests in the involvement of all levels of expertise in the higher education spectrum. In addition to student involvement in interdisciplinary seminars, more than 200 undergraduate and graduate students will be included in the 90 funded projects, with the potential to involve many more as the projects progress over the two-year funding period. Additionally, more than 150 faculty members will be engaged to direct the funded projects as principal investigators or to support projects as co-investigator collaborators. These include 54 assistant professors, 50 associate professors and 54 full professors as well as 20 research staff. Finally, 40 junior and senior faculty participated as peer reviewers, which brings the eventual footprint of the 2018 CUSE grant program to almost 440 involved faculty, students and other research staff.

“The CUSE grant program is one of the strategic steps of achieving Chancellor Syverud’s vision of enhancing the student experience and increasing research and innovation,” says Vice President for Research John Liu. “As such, the CUSE grant program will not only help advance knowledge of the awardees’ fields and enhance the University’s research profile and impact, but it also will create more research opportunities for our students.”

The CUSE grant program was designed to be highly interdisciplinary, to spur growth in the research enterprise and to further support the University’s standing as a pre-eminent and inclusive student-focused research university. The CUSE grant application and merit review processes were designed to emulate the most common practices found in leading external sponsors, with an expectation that CUSE-funded faculty members will seek extramural support for their developed projects and collaboration. The program’s ultimate goal is to increase both extramural funding and high-quality scholarly output, which in turn will increase national and international recognition of awardees, their programs and the University.

For more information on the program, types of grants or the application process, go to the Internal Grant Programs link at research.syr.edu or the the Request for Proposals site.