RESEARCH MESSENGER
Volume III, Issue 3
University Grants Program
We now have the results of the 2009 competition for support from the integrated University Grants Program.
1. FUNDS AVAILABLE: $411,110. We draw on five sources of funds to compose the resource pool.
| a. Grant-in-Aid funds from the Research Foundation: | $92,125 | |
| b. RSCA funds from the Chancellor's Office | $199,984 | |
| c. Faculty Development funds from the Provost: | $95,844 | |
| d. Adams Endowment funds from the John Adams Trust: | $13,400 | |
| e. Unspent funds retrieved from 2007 awards: | $9,757 |
2. NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF PROPOSALS. We received 120 proposals, requesting a total of $991,810, or 2.4 times the funds available. The mean request was $8,265. Proposals were distributed across the ten units we serve as follows:
| unit | number (%) | |
| CAL: | 30 (25%) | |
| CBA: | 17 (14%) | |
| CoED: | 13 (11%) | |
| CoEg: | 11 ( 9%) | |
| HHS: | 13 (11%) | |
| PSFA: | 19 (16%) | |
| CoS: | 15 (13%) | |
| IVC: | 2 (2%) | |
| Library | 0 ( 0%) | |
| Student Affairs | 0 ( 0%) |
Proposals were distributed across faculty rank as follows:
| lecturers: | 1 ( 1%) | |
| ass't profs: | 81 (68%) | |
| assoc profs: | 25 (21%) | |
| profs: | 13 (11%) |
3. SELECTION PROCESS. Proposals go from applicant to Chair for approval but not evaluation; from Chair to College committee for rating and ranking; from College committee to Dean for endorsement or modification of committee ratings; from Dean to University Grants and Lectureship committee (UGLC) for integrated rankings across the University; from UGLC to VPR for final selection.
My estimate is that about 80% of the outcome is determined by the College committee. They write what amounts to the first draft of the results, which are then subject to minor modification by the Dean (5%), UGLC (10%), and VPR (5%).
4. RESULTS. We were able to make 53 awards, for a 44% success rate. The mean award was $ 7,761. Awards and dollar amounts across the ten units were as follows:
| unit | number (%) | amount (%) | |
| CAL: | 12 (23%) | $ 87,862 (21%) | |
| CBA: | 4 ( 8%) | $ 38,236 ( 9%) | |
| CoED: | 7 (13%) | $ 63,728 (15%) | |
| CoEg: | 6 (11%) | $ 50,527 (12%) | |
| HHS: | 7 (13%) | $ 57,540 (14%) | |
| PSFA: | 9 (17%) | $ 59,917 (15%) | |
| CoS: | 7 (13%) | $ 46,831 (11%) | |
| IVC: | 1 ( 2%) | $ 6,469 ( 2%) | |
| Library | 0 ( 0%) | ( 0%) | |
| Student Affairs | 0 ( 0%) | ( 0%) |
Awards by rank were as follows:
| lecturers: | 1 ( 2%) | |
| ass't profs: | 41 (77%) | |
| assoc profs: | 9 (17%) | |
| profs: | 2 ( 4%) |
We are indebted to the members of the College committees who reviewed as many as 30 proposals, and particularly to the dozen members of the UGLC, chaired by Gary Grutnitski, who reviewed 120. That can make for a very long weekend.
Letters to all applicants should be sent out from our office by early next week. The 53 who will be pleased by what they receive will have from January 1, 2009 until June 30, 2010 to spend the funds.
Best wishes for success.
Tom
Thomas R. Scott
Vice-President for Research and
Dean of Graduate Affairs
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8220
ph: (619)594-2978
fax: 619-594-3561
tom.scott@sdsu.edu