ATTRACTING INTEREST/SUPPORT FOR YOUR SCHOLARLY WORK
William Bradshaw, Professor of Zoology
Gary Hooper, Associate Academic Vice President-Research
John Lamb, Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Brent Webb, Office of Research & Creative Activities
INTRODUCTION/PHILOSOPHY
BYU has an approach to scholarship that is both similar to other universities and, at the same time, carefully crafted to address our own mission. It is explained in the booklet A Model for Directing Scholarly Work at BYU. A copy is available at the Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) upon request.
We encourage research and creative work, both that supported by internal resources at BYU and that supported by external sponsors. We applaud faculty accomplishments that add to individual development and to the image of the university. We likewise recognize the contributions made by our research to the overall experiences of our students. This includes classroom experiences and special faculty-student projects that occur outside of the classroom with both undergraduate and graduate students. Generally speaking, scholarly work at BYU should involve and benefit students. Thus, projects that include student participation are favored over extraordinarily large efforts that are entirely staffed by research associates or other non-student personnel.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF SCHOLARSHIP/RESEARCH
There are a number of sources of financial support of your scholarship, both inside and outside the university. You are encouraged to seek both as you get started at BYU. It is not likely that you will receive funding in support of your work if you do not propose. Some of these sources are outlined below:
Internal Support
• The university, through colleges and departments, assists faculty through special research appropriations funds. You are encouraged to approach your chair/dean about these funds.
• Travel funds in support of scholarly work are also available, and are administered by departments and colleges.
• The university provides generous equipment support annually, and you will have an opportunity to request funds for capital equipment, computers, and similar supporting apparatus.
• A number of scholarships are available to support student scholarship.
• Some limited departmental/college scholarships are available. Each department/college manages these funds independently.
• The Office of Research and Creative Activities works with academic administrators to make a number of special awards to encourage undergraduate student-faculty projects. An application form, Undergraduate ORCA Scholarship, is available at ORCA.
• The Graduate School offers annually graduate student fellowships designed to encourage scholarship. Inquire at the office of Dean Addie Fuhriman, B-380 ASB.
External Support
The Office of Research and Creative Activities will assist you in seeking outside support and in managing external research funding. The Seeking External Research Funding handbook gives a step-by-step outline for proposal conception and writing.
Perhaps the best source of information regarding external funding to support scholarship/research in your discipline is your academic colleagues both at BYU and elsewhere. Seek the help of seasoned colleagues in identifying these sources. In addition, the Office of Research and Creative Activities in A-261 ASB maintains current information on funding opportunities:
Federal Grants and Contracts Weekly
NIH Guide
The Foundation Directory
Commerce Business Daily
The Federal Register
Often, funding opportunities that the ORCA staff see as relevant to BYU faculty are included in the ORCA News, a newsletter published monthly and distributed to faculty on campus. Additionally, the university subscribes to a service which seeks to match funding opportunities with faculty interest by discipline. This service, IRIS On-line, is managed by the Lee Library, and Roger Flick (3288 HBLL, BYU, Provo, UT 84602, (801)378-6010) can provide training for its use. In order to provide the best service to faculty, the ORCA staff is also examining other such electronic vehicles for announcement of funding opportunities. Finally, the advent of the World Wide Web has created on-line access to the primary federal sources of funding. A list of their home page addresses is maintained by ORCA. http://orca.byu.edu
CONCLUSION
The university is committed to the concept that quality instruction and research can and must be accomplished by our faculty as an integrated set of activities. It is recognized that the primary focus for planning your overall assignment is at the department level, but the university administration will work to assist you.
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