March 16, 2009 Newsletter

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    Please note for all proposals that must be submitted via Grants.gov, the Office of University Research Services must have the final complete proposal, with all required attachments, no later than 48 hours prior to the agency deadline. Because of the higher possibility of technical difficulties with this new submission engine, the OURS cannot guarantee that proposals received later than 48 hours prior to the deadline will be submitted on time. Please direct any questions to the Office of University Research Services, 4-2236 or ours@towson.edu.

The Towson University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Participants (IRB) has set its meeting schedule for the spring semester 2009.  Individuals planning to carry out research involving the use of human participants should plan to submit an IRB application no later than two weeks prior to the meeting at which they would like the application reviewed.  The meeting schedule is as follows:

    Wednesday, April 15 (submit applications by April 1)

    Wednesday, May 13 (submit applications by April 29)
Although not all applications require full IRB review, submitting your application two weeks prior to a scheduled meeting will ensure that the application is reviewed and approved, or granted an exemption (as appropriate) in a timely manner.

Questions should be directed to the IRB at 4-2236.

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    Reminder: Towson Academy of Scholars Accepting Applications

Agency:        Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars
Deadline:      March 25, 2009

The Towson Academy of Scholars is pleased to announce that it will be accepting applications for Towson Scholars for the academic year 2009-2010.  All full time faculty up to the rank of Assistant Professor or Librarian I and II who have been at Towson three years or less are eligible to apply.  The purpose of the Academy is to gather senior-mentors with junior faculty in a seminar setting that will give the latter an opportunity to share their research projects, reflective thinking essays, or portions of their dissertations under revision.  The research, thought-analyses, or revisions will be undertaken during the year preceding presentation with support provided by the Towson Academy of Scholars.

A committee of senior faculty members will oversee this initiative, and will serve as a review panel to select participating scholars.  Applications may be blind reviewed by external reviewers.  The committee will select up to three scholars from applications submitted from across the university community in the spring.  For the academic year 2009-2010, junior scholars will receive $1,000 in cash from the University.

In the spring of 2010, at a date to be arranged by the committee, each of the junior scholars selected will present his or her seminar paper in the Towson Room, Cook Library. In consultation with the scholars, the committee will arrange for one or two authorities in their fields to serve as discussants.

Faculty members who are selected to be Towson Scholars will be encouraged to invite their students to their presentations.  Seminars are open to the university community, and junior faculty will be required to make their papers available upon request.

While papers, essays, and/or chapters may reflect the academic discourse of their discipline, the oral presentations must communicate broadly to the University community.

Closing date for applications is March 25, 2009 (Wednesday).

Applications may be obtained on-line at the Office of University Research Services Web site, http://www.towson.edu/ours.  Completed applications should be submitted to the Office of University Research Services, 7800 York Road, Room 225, by 5:00 pm March 25.  Applications emailed to mhealy@towson.edu by 5:00 pm March 25 will also be accepted.

Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars
Patricia W. Romero, College of Liberal Arts and Chair
Sharon Buchbinder, College of Health Professions
Matthew Chambers, College of Business and Economics
Debi Gartland, College of Education
Mary Louise Healy, Office of University Research Services
Peter Lev, College of Fine Arts and Communication
Brian Masters, Fisher College of Science and Mathematics
Deborah Nolan, Library

URL:      http://www.towson.edu/ours

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    Institutional, University-Wide, or Cross-Disciplinary Opportunities

    Enhanced Assessment Instruments Grants Program—Enhanced Assessment Instruments

Agency:        US Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Deadline:      May 11, 2009

The purpose of this program is to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and systems used by States for measuring the achievement of all students. This competition includes four absolute priorities and three competitive preference priorities. The priorities are as follows:

  • Absolute Priority 1. Collaborate with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the requirements for these assessments described in section 1111(b)(3) of the ESEA.

  • Absolute Priority 2. Measure student academic achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.

  • Absolute Priority 3. Chart student progress over time.

  • Absolute Priority 4. Evaluate student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments, such as performance- and technology-based academic assessments.

  • Competitive Preference Priority 1. Accommodations and alternateassessments (up to 20 points). Applications that can be expected to advance practice significantly in thearea of increasing accessibility andvalidity of assessments for students withdisabilities or limited Englishproficiency, or both, including strategiesfor test design, administration withaccommodations, scoring, andreporting.

  • Competitive Preference Priority 2. Collaborative efforts (up to 10 points).Applications that are sponsored by aconsortium of States.

  • Competitive Preference Priority 3. Dissemination (up to 5 points).Applications that include an effectiveplan for dissemination of results.

Only state educational agencies (SEA’s) are eligible for funding under this program. Institutions of Higher Education are eligible only through collaboration with SEA ‘s (see absolute priority 1). The Department of Education considers only applications that meet one or more of the absolute priorities and will award up to an additional 35 points to an application, depending on how well an application meets these competitive preference priorities.

Proposed project periods may be up to 18 months and it is anticipated that six awards with an estimated average size of award of $1,460,000 will be made.

URL: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-5097.pdf

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MIPS Grants

Agency:        Maryland Industrial Partnerships
Deadline:      May 1, 2009

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program accelerates the commercialization of technology in Maryland by jointly funding collaborative R&D projects between companies and University System of Maryland faculty.

MIPS provides funding, matched by participating companies, for university-based research projects that help companies develop new products. MIPS projects help companies find solutions to technical challenges, as well as develop products, processes or training materials. MIPS projects are conducted by university faculty and graduate students in conjunction with company researchers. The maximum MIPS award for any single project is $100,000 per year for large and small companies and $90,000 for start-up firms.

Beginning with the May 1, 2009 round of MIPS, all proposals must be approved electronically in MIPStrack by a research administrator of the proposing campus. Paper copies of proposals will no longer be required or accepted by MIPS.

URL: http://www.mips.umd.edu/overview.html

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