Workshop: Electronic Tools for Grantsmanship

Sponsored Programs Office and Bracken Library are combining forces to lead workshops for faculty and graduate students to learn about electronic tools for research and grantsmanship. Workshop sessions will apply to both faculty members and graduate students and will be held:

Friday, January 28, 2011 - 2:00-4:00 p.m.
This session will be held in Bracken Library Room 225.

Workshops will focus on the following information sources:

• Web of Science (searching literature/citation indices)
• Community of Science & GrantSelect(identifying funding opportunities)
• IRBNet (electronically submitting IRB protocols)

Web of Science, is a powerful database that indexes journals in the sciences, social sciences and humanities and enables users to search core journals for major researchers in your field, or search citations to articles.

COS and GrantSelect provide Ball State University with access to services that help you locate funding sources in all the academic disciplines, publicize your research online, and locate potential research collaborators.

IRBNet training will instruct users on how to successfully submit their research protocols electronically to the Institutional Review Board, the Animal Care and Use Committee, or the Institutional Biosafety Committee.

Presenters include Instructional Services Librarians Lisa Jarrell and Brenda Yates Habich, and Research Information Coordinator Augusta Wray.

If you are interested in attending either of these sessions, please register by clicking here.

Ball State Moves Up the Institutional Research Ladder

Ball State University has moved up in rank from being a "doctoral/research university" to a "high research university," according to the Carnegie Foundation, an organization that determines how research is classified at colleges and universities.

According to the Carnegie Foundation website, doctorate-granting institutions can be assigned to one of three categories based on a measure of research activity--very high, high, and doctoral/research universities. However, the site is careful to explain that institutions differ with respect to the level of research activity, not quality or importance and "while this approach is suitable for classification purposes, we do not believe the institution-level results should be used for institution-by-institution comparison and ranking."

Stan Geidel, program manager in the Sponsored Programs Office, concurs and explains that "It's more of a recognition of past achievements rather than future goals. It recognizes the nature of the work that has been going on at Ball State for the past few years and because of that work it has prompted the classification agency to reposition us into this middle classification."

The classification system includes all accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities in the U.S. For more information visit classifications.carnegiefoundation.org. You can read a feature article from the January 25th edition of The Star Press here.

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Regional Seminar

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Regional Seminar

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research, Purdue University

March 30-31, 2011

Purdue University

Stewart Center, Room 214

West Lafayette, IN

The featured speaker is Jane Aikin, director of the Division of Research Programs at the NEH. Panelists will include Purdue faculty members experienced with the NEH proposal process.  This is an excellent opportunity for faculty from area colleges and universities to learn more about funding opportunities with the primary federal funder of research and scholarship in the humanities!

Day one sessions include:

• Overview of NEH mission and programs
• NEH review process, including a panel discussion on successful applications
• Individual meetings with attendees to discuss their research as it relates to NEH (on day one, priority for these sessions will be given to out-of-town participants)
• An evening reception that will allow participants to network with colleagues from Purdue and other institutions who conduct research in areas funded by NEH

Click here for full agenda.
Day two will be devoted to more individual meetings with faculty members.

Provost Immersive Learning Grants: March 1

Provost Immersive Learning Grant applications are due to the Provost's Office by 5:00 p.m. March 1st. Guidelines are available from the Provost's Office, Innovation in Teaching, Assessment, and Scholarship (ITAS), and individual department chairs. Please contact Jacquelyn Buckrop for a copy or see the ITAS homepage.

Additionally, two Open Forums are scheduled for anyone with questions regarding immersive learning and/or the grant application process. Forums are scheduled for:

• February 8th at 4:00 p.m. in the Student Center, Pineshelf Room, and 
• February 16th at 4:00 in the Student Center, Pineshelf Room

Student Symposium 2011 Registration Open!

16th Annual Student Symposium

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

2nd Floor, L.A. Pittenger Student Center

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

(Break: 2:30-3:00)

The annual Ball State University Student Symposium is approaching! The afternoon poster session provides a forum for students, faculty, and the community to discuss research efforts, to view creative works, and to examine the connection between special projects and education.

All BSU students are eligible: undergraduate, graduate, or those from Burris Laboratory School and Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, who have engaged in organized work either inside or outside the classroom, and who were advised by a Ball State faculty mentor.

All students are encouraged to participate in this event!

Please read the 2011 Student Symposium Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions before registering.

Click here to access the secure Registration Form.

All this information can also be accessed through the Sponsored Programs Office website at http://www.bsu.edu/spo .

A student must register to participate. The deadline for registration is 5:00 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2011.

Every student will receive a certificate recognizing his/her participation. In addition, cash prizes will be given for the most outstanding research or creative projects. Questions may be directed to Augusta Wray at SPO.BSU@gmail.com or to the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) at 285-1600.

Impressing with Smart Dressing

“Getting hired can really come down to your appearance. People are judging you before you even open your mouth and often do so within 30 seconds of meeting you.” -Sara Cole, Fashion Merchandising Major, Ball State University

When thinking about fashionable work attire, most people try to invest in the best brand name clothing available. However, for many American workers affected by the slow economy, these luxuries are often out of reach. In Muncie, Indiana the job market has suffered greatly from the economic recession, with unemployment reaching as high as 11.9 percent by mid 2009. With the rise in jobless claims, seeking fashionable clothing had been the last thing on the minds of the many out-of-work residents.

Concerned about the growing state of unemployment within their local community, Dr. Diana Saiki and Dr. Jinhee Nam of the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences at Ball State University decided to do something about it. Together they launched Smart Dressing: Learning Lessons from the Past to Make Wise Decisions in the Future, a program focusing on outreach to unemployed and low income groups within the Muncie community. Utilizing a three-phased approach, the researchers set out to help people learn how to look their best on a tight budget. 

“Initially the idea for the program came out of past research and presentations I did on workplace dress for low income groups” said Saiki, the program’s director. “For this project I wanted to make it more immersive and creative. I wanted to show that you don’t have to buy high-end only; you could use your imagination. I knew that an outreach program would be creative,” she said. Co-director Jinhee Nam further adds “When people normally shop, they tend to choose brands that they know and are accustomed to having. But those in the unemployed and low income community don’t have so much choice in selection.”

Determined to make a difference, Saiki and Nam partnered with  Muncie's TEAMwork for Quality Living, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, and the Ball State Beeman Historic Costume Collection to bring their vision into fruition. Their partnership with these organizations, in addition to the aid of more than 150 student volunteers, allowed them to make presentations to community groups such as WorkForce One and Future Choices. 

Central to the partnership was funding from Discovery, an organization that supports innovative, educational projects at Ball State University. Founded in 2002, the woman's philanthropy has made awards to over two dozen projects focused on Ball State's priorities. Saiki recalls conducting a demonstration for the proposal committee: “I remember when we did a presentation to Discovery and were wearing clothes we purchased and tailored. At the end of the presentation it really surprised the committee when they found out we were all wearing clothes from Goodwill!”

Since receiving funding in 2009, the team has already progressed through the first and second stages of their plan by launching an online exhibit and hosting a fashion show in fall of 2010. Community participants were given the opportunity to model professional work attire and keep the clothing they modeled as part of the Smart Dressing program.

Now on the third phase of the initiative, the team is putting together the final touches on their plan to establish a better work-dress program in partnership with the Muncie community. “It was exciting working with people from Ball State, especially with the students,” said community participant Angelic Wood. “While working with them, I was able to learn the rules of how to dress for an interview and how to select clothing that was the best fit and style for me. I’m dressing better now thanks to the program.” 

However, as much as community members have benefited from this effort, students would be the first to tell you of the growth they have also experienced as well.  Just ask Sara Cole, a junior fashion merchandising major at Ball State University:  “You know, when students first think about doing community work they dread it—I was first dreading it because I was thinking I’m busy, I’m a college student, I don’t have time for that. But once you are out there and you see how much you are helping people, you really start to enjoy it. That, I think, is something everybody should do. Getting out there and belonging to your community. If we all try to make a difference in the world it would be a brighter place.”

If you would like further information about this program, please feel free to contact Dr. Diana Saiki at (765) 285-2293 or by email at desaiki@bsu.edu. You may also contact Dr. Jinhee Nam at (765) 285-2177 or by email at jnam@bsu.edu. For additional information on funding opportunities at Ball State University, please visit the Sponsored Programs Office at www.bsu.edu/spo.